Dance of the pureblooded
by The Shy Scorpio
Summary: A clan thought to have been wiped from the face of the shinobi world in the warring states era reemerges and forms a pact with the leaf village, this small change in history will impact Konoha and the shinobi world in ways no one could ever guess. *Slow paced story, lots of pairings*
1. Chapter 1

**Dear readers this is my first ever fanfic and you've been warned it's going to feature a lot of OC'S also my spelling and grammar might not be the best but I try. Throughout the beginning of the story it'll be OC'S who are getting the majority of focus I feel like after a while they'll complement and fall in well with the story, they may seem to be out of place from the start and they may seem OP when they're first introduced but there's a reason behind that as well and the story will get better as it goes along I'm open to any questions and comments you have for me. Hope you'll enjoy the story.**

 **Disclaimer- I own nothing concerning Naruto or Naruto Shippuden, I hold no affiliation to anything involving the anime the manga or the games. **

_The dead bloods reawakening_

 **13KWords**

Hiruzen Sarutobi reclined in his chair sighing loudly. Kami knows he was tired, not just from today's paperwork but from running the village as long as he had.

With the nine tails attack being three years behind them Konoha had slowly started to recover, just recently finishing fixing the last of the property damage the village was still reeling from the death of the beloved fourth Hokage, and all the others who lost there life in the tragic incident.

Iwa still held great resentment for Konaha after being completely wrecked by the fourth Hokage in the war they so foolishly started 5 years ago. If not for their current lack of Shinobi Hiruzen was sure they would've already convinced Kumo into launching a joint invasion before the village was back to full strength.

The Hokage was starting to feel the stress of his job more and more as the days went by and the threats made by Kumo began to look more and more worrying.

Minato was dead, no one in the village even came close to his skill, his own students left the village for various reasons he tried not to dwell on, dark rumors were starting to spread about the Uchiha, little Naruto who was practically starved for love and attention was seen as some kind of second coming of the Kyuubi by the foolish visitors who ignored the fourths wish, and once again Danzo was off the leash.

Hiruzen looked up from his usual paper work and lately depressing thoughts sensing someone approaching his door.

"Come in." The aged Hokage spoke addressing the person on the other side before they could knock.

"Lord Third, some man claiming to be of some clan known as Monogahi request an audience with the Hokage." Came the voice of a brown haired anbu with a woodpecker mask who stood just halfway in the office blocking the door.

Sarutobi's eyes widened slightly. The Monogahi clan were once one of the most powerful in the elemental nations. They were said to have been wiped from the face of the world halfway into the warring states era. their name however still touched all corners of the nation's.

"Where is he?" Hiruzen questioned deciding he'd see the man.

"He's still just outside the northern gate Hokage sama."

"Bring him to me." He commanded not wanting to waste time on the matter.

If the Monogahi clan did still exist they could be invaluable allies or perhaps a fearsome enemy. Best to see why a member of the long extinct clan if what this man claims is the truth would seek an audience with the Hokage for.

A few minutes later a tall male came into view and the Anbu flickered back to place in one of the shadows or enclaves in the room.

The man looked to be in his late forties with the build of a shinobi and striking golden eyes laced with brown flecks floating in the gold around his pupils giving his irises a contrasting golden brown look. Black hair, dark brown skin and a large tattoo of a dragon that started on his right cheek and went down his neck seemingly widening before it went down the mans coller.

He wore black Shinobi sandals, black Shinobi slacks of the finest quality, a brown and black patterned shirt with what looked to be real golden trim matching his eyes. On the shirt he wore was the shape of a diamond with three drops of blood inside, the famous and forgotten emblem of the Monogahi.

He respectfully bowed to the Hokage and Hiruzen nodded in reply before addressing the man.

"I'd be lying if I said this isn't a surprise. To what do I owe the pleasure of meeting a member of the famous Monogahi clan?" He remarked eyeing the emblem suspiciously. He certainly had the look of a ninja of noble bearing but deception was a ninja's greatest tool.

"Allow me to introduce myself Hokage sama, my name is Yoshikawa Monogahi and I am the current clan head of the Monogahi clan. I come to Konoha seeking an alliance between your village and mine."

"Your village?" Hiruzen questioned wondering what village could have possibly been harbouring a clan thought to have been long extinct.

The man grinned before taking a seat in the chair one of the Hokages anbu had just brought in for him. "Allow me to attempt an explanation. I warn you it can get quite confusing at times."

Hiruzen nodding wanting to hear the man's story regardless of how confusing it might be.

"My clan went into hiding shortly after the combined assaults on us started. The elders knew we wouldn't be able to hold out forever so they called upon the sealing prowress of our Uzumaki allies to create a large barrier of spacetime time ninjustu that completely removed the village from the world as we know it, and suspend it in a sort of pocket dimension."

Hiruzen resisted the urge to look at the man as if he thought him stupid. He decided if this was all some sort of elaborate ruse he might as well see where exactly he was going with it.

"When the seal to move the village to it's own space was formulated we added a seal that took the time and space of the area around the village and transported them with us. As a result of us taking the flow of time in that area to ensure our success time never flows onward in the area where the village once remained which is why everyone so easily believed my clan had perished."

"Where once our village stood strong inside a beautiful Valley now lies an uninhabitable wasteland."

"I choose to contact you of all people dear Hokage, because the ideals and the cause of your village spoke to the members of my clan since the day it was established. We may have disappeared from the eyes of the world but we still try to keep an eye on everything."

"And what is it you see exactly?" Hiruzen questioned knowing he was going somewhere but he just hadn't gotten there yet.

"We see that Konoha's enemies are now more numerous than ever and your village still has yet to recover from the nine tails attack or the war. I'd like to barter an agreement that would be rather beneficial to your village." Yoshikawa smiled.

"And that agreement I take it is this alliance between us you mentioned earlier?" Asked a cautious Hiruzen. Wolves were most dangerous when under the cover of sheeps skin.

The man nodded happy that the Hokage was easily following him and hadn't taken to immediately shooting down the offer.

"I've selected a handful of Shinobi from my clan and I would like for them to move here and become Shinobi for your village. Of course they will still be a part of the Monogahi clan but they will be their own clan independent of us, and in return all I ask is Konoha be allies with our village."

Well Hiruzen could definitely say he wasn't expecting the leaf to be offered one of the most powerful kekkei genki in the elemental nations. He knew this could be a trap to destroy Konoha from the inside, espionage and infiltration were some of a shinobi villages greatest tactics against other villages.

Not only that but clans were really protective of their kekkei genki and the head of one of the most powerful clans in history was not only offering their's but also an alliance. Kami knew the village could definitely use one with the way things were right now. He was honestly surprised Kumo hadn't declared war yet with all the political disagreements and threats exchanged between the two villages lately.

"Why is it you choose this time to seek an alliance? What benefit for you and your village are you truly seeking an alliance with my village for?" Hiruzen asked gaze growing from stern to hard.

He wouldn't have someone claiming to be something long gone waltzing up to his village gates and attempting to sell him a dream for whatever reason. Monogahi or not, if Hiruzen saw the man to be a threat to Konoha he'd destroy him here and now without the slightest bit of mercy or remorse.

"I wish for the name Monogahi to once again be known among the corners of the world so that when we do decide to resurface few people will think it smart to challenge us." The clan head replied looking and sounding as if he really meant what he said.

"My village has thrived and expanded greatly over the years. Like I've mentioned though, the village itself is removed from the world. However our clan members have moved around discreetly in the shinobi world helping others less fortunate and taking in those who had no where else to go but would follow."

"Our clans connection with our blood keeps it pure even after generation upon generations of comingling with others. When mixed with the blood of one with a special kind of kekkei genki our blood can integrate and even modify said bloodline." As he said this his golden brown eyes took took on a pale hue and viens spread out from around his eyes.

"This is why the Uchiha and the Hyuga were willing to work together to eradicate us so long ago. Their dojustu among others are in our blood. I'm sure you can imagine the natural greed a clan with this ability would have for kekkei genki and more members in the warring states area. It's why many Shinobi clans united in an effort to destroy us and they might have succeeded if not for our numbers and the help of the Uzumaki."

Hiruzen looked at the man critically studying him closely for any hint of dishonesty.

"I assure you Hokage sama. Me and my clan in no way intend to be in a threat to your village, quite the opposite actually. If you'd like to prove my allegations you're are more than welcome to accompany me to my village to assess the shinobi I'm offering you, and to also prove I'm not wasting your time."

 _"Hmmm..."_ Hiruzen thought over the man's words. His intentions seemed good and his words also true enough.

"I find the terms of your agreement acceptable. I hope this will be the beginning of something of a friendship between our villages." The Hokage said standing to take hold of the man's hand in a personal agreement.

He would still have to have the necessary paperwork brought up and consult the clan heads but he was sure most of them would be in agreement. The men shook on it and developed small smiles as all tension left the room.

"Maybe we could do a bit of trading with each other too?" Yoshikawa asked sounding curious. "My village produces a lot of materials and products not found elsewhere and we could use a bit of variety after being secluded for all these years."

Hiruzen nodded in understanding seeing he was coming from and more than willing to jump at the opportunity.

"I can get those trade agreements written up along with the alliance and the clan papers if you'd like."

A lot of Konaha's trade lately was with Ame who had little money to begin with. Due to the hostilities with Iwa and Kumo their was no major trade between Konoha and either of the other great villages who meanwhile still traded with each other.

With Kiri's recent isolation no trade could be made with them, leaving Konaha's biggest trade partner the village of Suna which was also facing a financial crisis. If not for civilian and minor villages Konaha's economy wouldn't be very far from looking like Suna's or Ame's right now. The war along with the nine tails attack right after had done a number on the village, new trade could be just what they needed.

"That'd be excellent actually. Monogahi women love Konaha and Suna style clothing but due to most of our villagers never leaving the village they can only read and dream about them from catalogues."

"Where was that relief for me when I needed it." Hiruzen sighed into a smile thinking fondly of his wives shopping habits before she passed.

Yoshikawa grinned thinking he knew what that sigh was about.

"Oh how my wife used to nag me about increasing trade with Suna so she can increase her exotic dress collection...ahhh women." Hiruzen sighed again.

"Tell me about it, my wife told me she'd kill me if I don't bring back a number of souvenirs. She's probably serious too." Yoshikawa laughed nervously earning a few laughs from Hiruzen who gave him the address of his deceased wives favorite dress shop.

"I'm going to get those papers written up, it'll take me about a day or two to clear it with the councils as well. Even though the final say is mine they still need to be informed of these things. Please feel free to enjoy the village while you're here."

"Thank you Hokage sam-"

"And please no more Hokage sama. Hokage dono if you feel the need to be formal at times but I'd just prefer Hiruzen or Sarutobi." The Hokage cut in.

"Got it Hiruzen, thank you for your hospitality. I'll take a look around as I await your summons."

"Its no problem, I'll see you then and enjoy yourself in the meantime." Hiruzen replied going back to his paperwork as Yoshikawa exited the office.

 **The day after-Hokage tower council room** **2:07pm**

Yoshikawa walked into the room and took note of the people and the way they appraised him.

There was Hiruzen at the front of the table noding his head in greeting which he returned.

Next to Hiruzen on his left side was a man with bandages covering his arm and the side of his face. He appeared to have his one good eye closed but Yoshikawa knew the man to be closely analyzing him.

On the left of that man were two elderly members lookin at him with suspicion and to the right of Hiruzen sat his chief advisor Shikaku Nara who looked at him curiously.

Seated around the room randomly were people Yoshikawa figured to be Konaha's respective clan heads and civilian council members who Sarutobi invited to inform on the matter and ask of on opinions. They all too looked at Yoshikawa with curiosity besides the Uchiha and the Hyuga clan heads who to him seemed to be scowling in his direction.

"Now that we're all here let's get started. You all know what this meeting was called for and where I stand on the situation. What we're here to figure out is where you all stand." Hiruzen stated crossing his hands under his chin letting his gaze wander over the room.

"I guess we'll start with the question's, you may begin." Hiruzen finished.

"What is it you really intend to gain from a relationship with Konaha?" Danzo Shimura of Konaha's elder council and leader of its anbu NEE branch spoke up.

"Exactly what I'm sure your Hokage has either told you or showed you in a report of some kind. There is no deception in my words." Yoshikawa answered easily.

Danzo practically accused the man of lying with his gaze alone. "You don't seriously expect us to believe your reasons are so simple do you?"

"Actually I do, if I was plotting something against Konaha it would be more towards my interest to side with Kumo who undoubtedly is doing much better than the rest of the world in terms of economical stability right now and would surely jump at the chance to aquire a bloodline of which I am offering."

"I hear their greed for bloodlines has always exceeded Konoha's which is what makes you their number one enemies, their jealousy and greed. Iwa only became your enemy because of their own foolishness as wanting to be seen as the most powerful ninja village in the elemental nations, a title still held by Konaha though just barely at this point."

"I wouldn't be surprised if Suna became your enemies soon too seeing as they started way laying missions to help the leaf recover from the nine tails attack three years ago and you haven't returned the favor or clientele to the now poverty stricken village." Yoshikawa added casually looking at his finger nails.

Sarutobi looked surprised at the knowledge the man held on matters that should only be known to the upper echelons of the leaf and sand villages, and his knowledge of Suna's financial depression. Really it was no wonder their trade was decreasing rapidly of one was to take the man's words into consideration.

There were a few gasp and whispers around the room as a few clan heads and councilers talked among themselves quietly.

"Kiri is in a very dire situation within itself right now hench their recent isolation. The minor Shinobi villages will not ally with any of the major villages. They'd rather fight a losing war themselves rather than have their own troops pushed to the front lines to fight for a foreign country."

"Your point is?" One frustrated Danzo Shimura in.

"I can offer you trade that'll assure a quick rise back to your former economical status and eventually even greater than before. I want to enact a trade pact between Suna and my village too. One that will also help to boost Suna's economical status." Yoshikawa continued.

"The pact will be enacted as a new trade agreement between Konaha and Suna that the Kazekage would surely be blind to refuse. My village will offer some of our finest goods. Such as clothing and jewelery, along with large quantities of food and material for a low price. Enough to boost Suna's economy back to where it was before their nine tails attack relief effort."

"In exchange my village will only ask for a few rare desert plants animals and the usual goods here and there for every shipment of exotics and supplies we send. This gesture will be seen as payment for Suna's efforts and will also benefit Konaha as you'll also be trading with our village and there will be a large influx of rare goods coming in Konaha and Suna drawing the attention of the minor villages and Kumo who still trades with Suna."

"The goods Konaha and Suna will be receiving will be for the most part different. The fine clothes they get won't be the same as the fine clothes you get, same goes for food jewelry material and anything else we decided to later add to one of the trade agreements."

"The different exotic items popping up within Konaha and Suna will increase trade among you two as well as making you both richer as you also trade with the minor villages, and get richer." Yoshikawa finished grinning at the elder.

No one in the room could deny that if it was one the man could deliver on that offer would prove to be very beneficial.

"If I am to be believed you wish your clan name to be known as you one day hope to establish your own hidden village I must ask...why not just form all of these trade agreements on your own?" The elder pressed taking every word with a grain of salt.

"If your goal is for your clans name to once again be well respected and feared throughout these lands wouldn't destroying the most powerful hidden village help you towards accomplishing that goal?" Danzo threw the words at the man like an accusation before he continued speaking his mind.

"I don't believe for a second you plan to just hand away a bloodline as powerful as yours, no matter how pure the intention may seem." He finished throwing the ball in the other man's court.

Yoshikawa found himself grinning again in awe of the man's tenacity and untrustworthy nature. The shinobi world ran on men like Danzo Shimura and he found he could respect the man for attacking his intentions as he was. Although if his intention was to unmask him he'd be dissapointed when he realized there was no hidden intention to uncover.

"Well that is only because I trust Konaha's leadership. You are also welcome to accompany me to my village if you'd like, Danzo Shimura." Yoshikawa said inwardly beaming at the man who was making this fun for him.

Apparently everyone else was content to allow Danzo to test the man's words without interference. Surely if anyone in the room could root out a hidden agenda it'd be the Shimura.

"If your claim of wanting to be a benefit to Konaha is to be believed I'd like for one of your clan members to be placed under my care."

The Monogahi raised an eyebrow.

"To be placed in your NEE program I take it?"

Gasp and murmurs filled the room again as Danzo stared unfazed at the man challenging him with his gaze.

"How exactly did you come onto possession of the knowledge of my organization?" He questioned with ice in his voice.

"Let's just say I was sure to look into Konoha's military, political, and economic structure thoroughly before deciding to extend an invitation for an alliance." The clan head said rather plainly.

"That doesn't answer my question." Danzo said with a bite to his tone.

"A little birdie told me." Yoshikawa grinned.

Danzo's eye narrowed on the man but he said nothing else deciding since he wasn't likely to get a straight answer it'd be best to just get back to the matter at hand.

Seeing Danzo relented to asking no more questions about it the man moved on to reply to his suggestion.

"I usually wouldn't agree to such a thing but I think it'll be fine as long as you agree to a few deviations from how you treat your usual agents."

Danzo began to find his patience with the man wearing thinner than what it already was.

"This is not an option! How am I to ensure you mean what you say about being a benefit if you aren't willing to agree to my terms?" The man growled clearly fustrated with the Monogahi's continues counters to anything he asked or said.

Yoshikawa's face became serious and he started to actually look his age as he returned Danzo's hard gaze.

"I don't think any respectable clan head would willingly subject one of their own to being broken down by different types of mental psychological and physical torture till their mind breaks and their just living tools."

The room was silent for a moment as all eyes shifted back and forth between the men.

"What exactly do you mean by deviations to my usual treatment of agents?" Danzo spoke after a long silence scowling at the man.

Yoshikawa's smile returned but it wasn't smuge, it was casual as if the man was one who smiled regularly. Danzo found it still was irritating to an extent.

"I will give you two twins who lost their mother and father who happened to be in Konaha during the nine tails attack. They will never become full fledged NEE operatives, they will be raised by you personally as your daughters Imari and Inoha Shimura and trained by you and whoever else you see fit."

Gasp from the various councilers and clan heads filled the room again but Yoshikawa continued as if obvious to them.

"They'll go to the academy when they reach the proper age. They will not be allowed on NEE operations until they're both at least Chunin in rank not skill. I don't care if they want to join NEE they are never permitted, but they are permitted to accompany them on missions and operate as special members, but only after they reach the rank of chunin. They will not be breeding machines for you to produce more and more bearers of our bloodline or I will hunt you down and kill you myself. Also...you will not try to promote a relationship or an arranged marriage of any kind between them."

Most of the rooms occupants were gazing at danzo with wide eyes, fully conscious of just how much the man was likely fuming on the inside.

"They're to be treated as normal girls who's father happens to be on the council while running a top secret sect of anbu blackops on the side. They are not to undergo any mental conditioning and or programming of any kind and if you don't mind I'm sure their kin wouldn't mind training them in the use of their kekkei genki." Yoshikawa finally finished to a room that was deathly silent.

"Fine." Danzo muttered much to the surprise of everyone in the room besides Sarutobi who knew Danzo would never pass up on such a bloodline if it provided him the chance to add it to his arsenal, even if it meant taking on two daughters and possibly apprentices.

"Anymore questions?" Hiruzen asked knowing the answer.

"How did your clan come to aquire the Hyuga clan bloodline? Do all of your members have this trait?" Hiashi demanded an answer more so than asking a question.

"It was aquired long ago in the warring states era when a few members of the Hyuga's abandoned your clan and joined ours, which I'm almost sure is what started the practice of the caged bird seal and yes and no. I'd say about half my clan has the Byakugan in their blood just as we do the sharingan but it's actually very rare for most to unlock them."

"Those who have a strong connection with the blood and actually have the gene for dojustu can try to force them awake but some have died doing that. Generally only those who are very talented awaken one or the other but it's still a small percentage. If you'd like, you all are welcome to a tour of our village as well."

"I'd very much like to take part in this tour." Danzo remarked receiving nods from all of the gathered clan heads as well as the rest of the council.

"Very well, shall it suit both councils a tour of the village will be available for all curious parties before the final decision is agreed upon." Yoshikawa finished unable to help his grin. The moment they began considering accepting the deal was all but agreed upon.

Hiruzen looked around. "Very well we will set out tomorrow for the land of moon. Travel will take two to three days. Pack for a two week long trip and make whatever preparations need to be done for your clans to function in your absence."

 **3** **days later**

"We're here." The party stopped and Yoshikawa began forming a long chain of hand signs Fugaku discreetly memorized with his sharingan.

Suddenly it felt as if they were flying and then they were in the middle of a large circle inside a beautiful green valley with seals spreading outwards from a large stone circle running in the middle of the clearing. In the near distance were buildings that by design looked to be older than the leaf itself.

"Welcome to my village or as we like to call it, Darsula." Yoshikawa smiled to his guest as they took note of the several shinobi and civilians crowded in front of them smiling.

The crowd called out to their leader in joy at his return. A lot of shades of various colors seen lying on top of the normal eye color of a large portion of the crowd a larger portion of the crowd having normal eyes of various colors.

The entire crowd had the finest clothing the Shinobi had ever seen, real rubies and gems being embroidered to the fabric. In front of the crowd stood four Monogahi with gold or yellow shaded eyes like Yoshikawa.

They had robes seemingly made out of different kinds of gems and crystals that also happened to look very comfortable.

"I have returned my family!" Yoshikawa called out to the entire crowd earning another set of cheers and shouts.

"As you all know I left the village in hopes of forming an alliance with the leaf village that would prove beneficial to us in the future, and earn us some long time allies in the present. The man you see behind me is none other than the third Hokage of the leaf village Hiruzen Sarutobi!"

The crowd let out another round of cheers for the legendary shinobi who smiled and scratched his cheek shyly at the welcoming villagers.

"He has accompanied me here per request to assure that our little village can hold up our end of the bargain. I expect you all to treat our visitors just as family while their here. The celebration for my return and the beginning of our beautiful new alliance begins in three days."

"I'll be helping to settle in our guest and tending to matters I have missed since I left. Thank you all for showing up to my welcome home. Let's be sure to enjoy our celebration and the company of our guest!" Yoshikawa shouted with enthusiasm causing a group of people in the crowd to do something that put all the leaf Shinobi on edge.

They began running through a chain of hand seals all finishing in unison and turning towards the sky. A huge wind picked up around the valley as a giant balloon that had the words welcome home broke free of the strings that'd been keeping it anchored to the ground.

Everyone in the crowd, even some small children pulled out silver kunai attached with explosive tags and hurled them towards the balloon.

They all started detonating one by one as they all strangely started redirecting themselves as they neared the balloon. Instead of the usual bomb and explosion they blew up in a sparking display of colorful fireworks who's light hovered in the sky as certain seals in specific places held their own letters which hovered in the air unlike the light from the other fireworks which quickly dissipated.

All of the kunai instead of falling back to the ground hovered in the air and danced around where they had started coming together and began forming all shorts of things like flowers and animals. As the fireworks attached to a kunai went off the resulting light would reflect off of the rest of the silver projectiles lighting the sky up with a myriad of dancing animals and plants that constantly changed colors.

This lasted for six minutes as the Hokage and those who accompanied him could only stare in amazement and wonder. As the last of the fireworks went off, underneath a fire breathing hawk, a roaring gorilla pounding his chest, and three drops of blood inside a diamond were the words Welcome Home Yoshikawa!

The Hokage couldn't believe a village could set up a coming home celebration of this magnitude. The words hovered in the air for a few seconds before slowly disappearing from the starting letter.

Yoshikawa had tears in his eyes as he told the villagers how he couldn't thank them enough for their heart warming welcome home and awesome display.

A chorus of cheers and thank you Yoshikawa sama rang through the crowd before all of them began shouting their farewells to their leader and dispersed with smiles and cheery faces.

Yoshikawa turned back to his guest as his family approached him and he received a hug from two little girls who both looked identical, and a fair skinned women heavy with child who the Hokage assumed to be his wife.

"Oh how I've missed you guys. Hey..how did you pull off that display it was amazing! Who planned it?" The man asked smiling at his wife and girls as a young boy around the age of five or six who looked just like the man approached and grinned at his father.

"Me and Nubutaka came up with it and he got the best magnet release users to help him, I knew it was gonna be awesome!" The boy beamed proud of what he helped to accomplish.

"Is that so, that was quite the brilliant thinking. I don't wanna ask how much the silver kunai cost to make but at least we can use them again later. I'm proud of you boys Hamura." Yoshikawa rubbed his son's head affectionately causing him to pull away embarrassed.

"Where is your brother anyway?" Yoshikawa asked looking around.

"Up there." Hamura pointed towards the huge balloon in the sky.

"So that's how they used the magnet style so accurately, brilliant!"

"Hey Nubutaka!" Yoshikawa called up to the sky as they saw a figure leap off of the balloon that had to be over 30 meters in the air.

"Is the boy mad, there's no way to survive a fall of that height." Danzo spoke for the first time since being there as Yoshikawa grinned.

"Here comes big brother!" One of the young girls cheered happily.

As the young man approached the ground he began forming hand signs and much to the shock of the leaf Shinobi as soon as he hit the ground he dropped into his shadow which quickly moved along the ground to the front of the family.

"Welcome back dad." Said the young man smiling as he rose from the shadow.

He wore a black and white long sleeved jacket over a mesh shirt with black shinobi pants and white shinobi style boots with white ankle wraps the likes of which the leaf shinobi had never seen before. White finger less gloves with metal plates, and a long katana on his back, the snow white sheath matching the boys hair as his bright golden eyes shone completely identical to his mothers who's fair skin complexion he adopted instead of his fathers.

 **1 day later**

Yoshikawa walked through the shinobi training district of his village along with Hiruzen, Danzo, Fugaku, Hiashi, Inoichi, Shikaku, Choza, Tsume, the civilian council and the leaf advisors with the leaf shinobi who'd come to serve as a guard detail.

Leaving the village as such with so many important shinobi wouldn't be considered by most to be an intelligent move but if Hiruzen expected the village to be attacked at the moment he would've never left. He knew things would be fine during their short absence and when they returned it'd be as if they'd never left.

They came to an area with a large arena many Shinobi seemed to be battling in at once while many spectators sat off to the sides. The arena was nothing more than a large plot of land surrounded by stone walls and wooden benches for spectators and people waiting their turn.

Yoshikawa told them this was their dueling arena and something of a training field. He intended to give the Hokage a demonstration of what three of his new shinobi would be capable of.

"Nubutaka I'd like you to spare with Amaris since if the Hokage agree's to our alliance she'll be going to Konaha along with you. This will be a good chance to show them just what you two are capable of and why you'd make invaluable assets to the leaf."

"Right away." Nubutaka said walking over to a girl with long silver hair and deep blue eyes yellow specks could be seen floating inside.

She wore a short white kimono that stopped at her thighs and had blue and yellow flowers on it matching her eyes. Underneath the kimono she wore mesh body armor and a pair of black leather shorts she had a dagger and kunai holder strapped to. Black knee high konochi sandals and a katana with a blue gaurd with a white blue and gold hilt that matched the black and gold on the sheath.

Nubutaka stopped in front of her and exchanged a few words while Yoshikawa ushered the leaf Shinobi to the benches made for spectators.

By the time the leaf Shinobi were comfortable Nubutaka stood in the arena across the the girl named Amaris.

A man with the build of a shinobi who lacked the Monogahi eyes stopped walking as he spotted the two and ran up to the side of them.

"May the Third match between Nubutaka Monogahi Herald of steel and shadows, VS Amaris Monogahi mistress of lighting and wind...begin!" The man signaled bringing his hand down between the two and backing up.

"So you keep an official referee here at all times?" Hiruzen asked not taking his eyes off the fighters in the arena which had cleared out once Nubutaka and Amaris took their places inside it.

"No, anyone who's around at the time and knows score acts as a referee. The man who's doing it now just so happened to have known this will be the third fight between the two and also was the first to get there." The clan head replied.

"What about the nicknames?" Tsume asked the question the others had been thinking.

"In our clan we like to give our own nicknames when their level of skill with a certain things reaches heights beyond the average. You'll see why both of them earned theirs." He finished looking towards the two fighters who still hadn't moved.

"So I take it you want me to go first again?" The girl with the blue and golden eyes spoke looking at the man before her curiously.

"Naah I can go first if you'd like." Nubutaka smiled and took out a handful of shurekien he hurled at the girl with all the speed and skill of a jonin.

She just stood there seemingly ready to face the attack head on when suddenly a gust of wind picked up and knocked the shurieken to the ground harmlessly.

Nubutaka smiled and pulled his right arm back making the ninja wire he'd attached to the ninja stars visible as his shadow began travelling through the shadow made by the wire emerging from the ground in a flurry of spikes where the girl had once been standing.

She was in the air now falling towards Nubutaka who pulled out a Kunai and blocked the downward slash of her blade. Pushing down her weight and flipping off the handle the konochi landed a few feet away from the man who apparently fought like a Nara.

"That girls speed and acrobatic ability are impressive." Hiruzen commented impressed at the way she'd flipped off her own sword and the speed she briefly demonstrated in doing so.

Shikaku who'd done his research on the Monogahi didn't need to ask how one of them knew the Nara's Justu.

Yoshikawa smiled. "You haven't really seen anything yet."

"You've been getting a lot of wins lately lately so I'll fight you seriously from the start." The girl moved a strand of her long oddly colored silver hair out of her face.

"That sounds awesome." Nubutaka smiled pulling out a trench dagger.

A strong wind picked up around the girl making her hair move in different directions with it. Most of the leaf envoy wondered what she was doing and how she'd used the advanced looking Justu with no hand signs.

Suddenly the ground underneath her feet broke and she was in front of Nubutaka who smiled gleefully and faded into a shadow before a wind enhanced punch could touch him.

He resurfaced a few feet away and much to the surprise of the crowd the girl's wind armor became a storm that surrounded her in a way that was similar to the Riakages lighting cloak. She appeared right in front of the man seemingly teleporting. She swung a gentle fist style jab at the his torso quicker than most eyes could follow but her hand stopped less than an inch away from the man who's shadow was now connected with hers.

Nubutaka swung his trench blade at the girl with all the speed looking as if he was intent on going for the kill when suddenly in a flash of lightning she vanished and reappeared behind him swinging her katana at his back only to have it blocked by a clone of him that rose from his shadow.

Nubutaka capitalized on her surprise and began a fierce assault with a kunai and his trench dagger, his shadow popping up off of the ground to block or counter attack for him compensating for the massive speed difference but anybody with eyes could see he was beginning to get overwhelmed as the silver and purple streak that was Amaris only seemed to get faster kicking up dust and blurring as she moved.

The spectators wondered how Nubutaka could keep up with her.

Suddenly when she came in for another attack instead of letting his shadow rise to counter just in the nic of time Nubutaka brought his trench blade up to block the downward swing of the katana the speed difference allowing her katana to dig into his shoulder slightly before his trench blade stopped it from disabling or severing the now wounded limb.

His shadow stretched out paralyzing the girl temporarily as another clone rose from the line connecting them taking a swing at the girl with its replica trench blade, her surprise at his change in strategy wearing off quickly enough for her to gather the chakra she needed to use the lighting flash teleportation justu mentally without hand signs.

She reappeared a short distance away and saw a kunai heading her way as she soundly dodged the speed boast from her cloak making it too easy. Suddenly the kunai redirected behind her which she couldn't see.

It hit her lighting armor and was repelled sticking in the ground a few feet behind her as she smirked.

"Nothing gets through my malestorm chariot." She said confidently, the lighting and wind around her form giving the beautiful women a slightly intimidating look as the ground beneath her feet cracked as it struggled to hold under the pressure of the wind and the power of her lightning.

"It wasn't meant to get through." Nubutaka smiled as a ninja wire attached to the kunai came into view. Before she could run she was trapped in another shadow binding justu.

Nubutaka knowing she'd use her justu to teleport had his shadow place a small metal ball on her while she was distracted.

Sure enough as he predicted she teleported out of his binding a few feet away and began running through hand signs.

"Lighting style: Shock current!" Amaris held out her left hand as a powerful current of lighting struck the spot Nubutaka had been standing in a moment before.

Lightning style: Grand shock carpet!" Amaris slammed her hand into the ground causing a huge current of lightning to run around the entire field of the arena forcing Nubutaka out of his shadow.

She was upon him in moments attacking in a flurry with her katana. Nubutaka's shadow blocked a swing of the blade only for Nubutaka to end up having to block another blow from the opposite direction less than a second later as the girl began moving so fast Nubutaka and his shadows were becoming blurry as well trying to keep up.

Even Fugaku who had his sharingan active was very impressed with the girls speed and the boys reflexes as he seemed to be predicting her movements almost like he had a sharingan but Fugaku saw nothing indicating that assumption to be true.

The girls storm chariot seemed to be getting weaker as Nubutaka only got more precise with his defense and his counter attacks. His shadow blocked another lightning fast sword stroke but only a second later she'd found a weakness in his defense as he was about to be harshly slashed across his side. He lifted his hand and threw it to the side, the konochi finding her body pulled in the direction he indicated caught herself in mid air righting her self and skidding to a halt a few feet away.

She reached into her clothes and removed the small metal ball he'd used to magnetise and control her. She threw the ball far into the woods where it wouldn't be a problem.

Nubutaka pulled out a bunch of kunai, nine in total four in each hand and one in his mouth. He hurled them towards the girl as he made two shadow clones out of his shadow.

He and his copies eyes morphed into a deep crimson three tomoe surrounding their pupils. One clone started using magnet style to redirected and changed the path of the kunai so they all constantly rebounded off each other continuesly attacking the girl from various angles, keeping her distracted with evading the never ending barrage as the other began running through hand signs and Nubutaka watched the barrage not missing a beat.

Amaris while being bombarded and constantly pressured by kunai so she couldn't teleport called on something she hadn't used in a spare in years knowing one of the kunai would blindside her eventually if she didn't.

 _"Byakugan!"_ Her deep sapphire eyes took on a white hue as viens bulged out from them on the side of her face and she had an easier time dodging the kunai that seemed to be coming from all directions and never stopped.

The real Nubutaka threw his last kunai into the barrage and used the substitution justu to switch places with it without interrupting the barrage. With a speed few of the shinobi present could follow Nubutaka began substituting with the kunai that were still assaulting the girl disappearing and reappearing striking at the girl who surprisingly could always block his attack before he teleported away as if using the Harashin.

The clone he'd made was still on the sidelines preforming hand signs for the shadow clone justu replacing every kunai it's master switched places with and making sure the flow of the kunai barrage was not interrupted for even a second least the skilled konochi escape. His other clone was controlling the kunai barrage as well as using a visual link that came with these kind of clones to show the real Nubutaka where it'd be best to use the replacement justu amoung the barrage and to make sure the other clone could keep up with them both.

Nubutaka was wearing down the girl who found herself now struggling to keep up even with her storm chariot. With a yell her cloak of storm exploded outwards in a burst of lightning and wind knocking back Nubutaka along with his kunai and dispelling his clones.

What she did next surprised the leaf shinobi one in particular though as she held her left hand up putting her right hand around her wrist as lightning began forming on her hand and the sound of a thousand chirping birds filled the ears of the spectators.

"Let's end this shall we?" She said grinning challengingly at her opponent.

"Sure considering we're both doing a number on our reserves right now." Nubutaka answered back sounding more tired than he actually was as he pulled out his trench blade.

The girl smiled and moving her katana to her right hand. Nubutaka held his trench blade in his left hand and a kunai in the other.

She smiled as she charged, cracking the ground underneath her and creating a trail of destruction as she approached the man who stood still.

She reached him and attempted a round house swing with her sword which he quickly dodged, not wasting the momentum she kept spinning bringing the chidori around to graze Nubutaka's chest as he lifted one of his fingers and suddenly ninja wire sprung from the ground connecting to certain kunai in the wall or floor of the arena.

The wire snapped into place before the girl could react trapping her arms legs and neck as she attempted not to struggle least the bindings tighten and removed her head or one of her limbs.

Before she could use her lightning flash teleportation justu Nubutaka already had his blade at her neck, two shadow clones rising from the shadow of the wire on either side of her placing their blades against her too making sure she couldn't get away without great risk to herself.

"Winner of the match, Nubutaka Monogahi herald of steal and shadow!" The random Shinobi guy spoke as the crowd of locals and even a few of the leaf shinobi erupted into wild applause.

"That was quite the match. Your son and that girl are both exceptional ninja. I haven't seen speed like either of theirs since the fourth Hokage, and their skill in combat goes without mentioning." Hiruzen said sounding as if he wasn't shocked at the battle he'd just witnessed.

The way Nubutaka used yin and magnet style as well as the kunai shadow clone technique to trap the girl in an endless storm of kunai along with the way he used the replacement justu like a make shift harashin without ever making a necessary kunai fall out of place as he teleported around the barrage trying to find an opening in the girls defense as she seemed to be quick enough to keep up with what seemed like teleportation.

Needless to say she had impressed him too with her incredible speed mastery over wind and lightning the likes of which the only Kakashi could say he matched.

Her chariot as she called it was something special and given a few years it was possible it might even surpass the Riakages lightning cloak as his justu only used one element while hers used two. Not to mention the visual prowress the two just showed. An average Uchiha wouldn't have been able to replicate what Nubutaka had just done with or without magnet style, it took a lot of skill to preform that technique the way he had.

Hiruzen had never seen it before but he was sure Fugaku was just as impressed and for the girl to withstand the technique as long as she had spoke wonders of her skill and visual prowress. He also doubted most Hyuga would've survived that attack as they didn't have the speed to keep up.

He couldn't believe this man would just give him such talented ninja who both appeared to be no older than 24 and had their whole lives ahead of them to get stronger.

Danzo though as calm a man as he was was getting nearly giddy on the inside. To think he'd have the same bloodline these two held in the form of two daughters soon. He'd always wanted Uchiha and Hyuga ROOT operatives he wondered if his apprentices would awaken the ocular dojustu's.

It made him angry to think of all the possibilities Yoshikawa's terms had robbed him of but either way he could still use them to strengthen and protect the village and if in a few years one of his prodigies ascended to the seat of Hokage with his ideals then even better for the village.

Fugaku didn't know what to think really. He'd been highly upset when the man activated a sharingan and used it as if it was normal to him, but the abilities of the man spoke for themselves. If a third of the members of the Monogahi in this village possessed the capability to awaken the Uchiha's bloodline that was a problem but realistically he knew there was nothing he could do about it.

He did however contemplate the idea of an arranged marriage between one of the Monogahi and the Uchiha. Perhaps the boy who stood in the arena right now. An Uchiha clan with the magnet style would be the most feared and respectable clan to ever grace the elemental nations.

Hiashi was outraged to see someone who wasn't a Hyuga so easily activate a Byakugan as if it belonged to their clan rather than his. Then to make matters worse she lost to someone using the sharingan, but Hiashi was not so foolish that he couldn't see the value in this.

Perhaps an arranged marriage between the girl in the arena and one of his clan would be beneficial. A Hyuga with her storm cloak abilities would be the fiercest warrior to ever grace the battle field. The Hyuga would undoubtedly be the strongest clan in Konaha.

Tsumi was impressed by both fighters, she wondered if anyone here had abilities specific to her clan and if not what could they do if they did?

Shikaku was equally impressed but more so with Nubutaka's intelligence, his battle field strategy, and his use of the Nara's style of yang release it looked like he'd created new justus for.

 _"That guy fights like a Nara who actually likes and excells at combat. If the elders find out about this they'll want me to arrange a marriage with him and some consenting high up female within the clan, what a drag."_

Inoichi was smiling ear to ear.

 _"This could be what the Yamanaka have needed so long to redefine our offensive capabilities. I've never seen the Nara's yang release used so offensively before. Perhaps I can arrange a marriage with this boy and one of our female higher ups. If only Ino was older...I'm sure this guy could redefine our justu if that was his work on the Nara's."_

Choza's was impressed but his thoughts were mostly occupied with trying to remember what time they ate lunch.

Shikuro Aburames thoughts were similar to Inoichi's as he wondered how the kikka beetles would react to a lightning cloak or how they could be better used by someone possessing magnet style.

Kakashi who'd come as a bodyguard needed to exchange a few words with his fellow silver haired lightning user about where she learned that last Justu.

Might Gai was attempting to leap into the arena to challenge one of the impressive fighters but found three other leaf jonin holding him back.

"Nubutaka!" Yoshikawa called to the boy who looked up.

"I'd like for you to do battle with Yukushia next."

The young hier nodded his consent and walked over to a bench that had a girl with long white hair with a black streak and bright green eyes with yellow floating around in the irises. She wore a white and black kimono with green and yellow flowers, gold trimming and a grey and white obi, she had on black konochi heels which few could actually do battle in.

Unbeknownst to the casual observer underneath her kimono she wore a dark leather body suit which was covered by her mesh armor.

After the heir spoke with the girl for a short period of time they both body flickered to stand inside the arena on opposing ends as a random civilian women ran to stand in the middle of the pair raising her hand.

"May the fifth match between Nubutaka Monogahi the Herald of steel and shadows, VS Yukushia Monogahi Lady of beautiful death...begin!" The women dropped her hand and a man flickered to her quickly removing her from the arena.

The ground around Yukushia erupted as a small forest of tree's sprang to life around the beautiful brunette. Not even a second later a large amount of roots tore out of the ground giving chase to Nubutaka who quickly tried flickering away only to be followed.

He impressed a few of the onlookers, in thinking and reacting fast as one of the large roots almost crushed him but he quickly faded into the shadow it cast over his body.

As he reappeared a short distance away Yukushia stood in the same spot, her left hand going through seals, her right hand on the ground. Nubutaka's instincts told him to move and he followed as the jaws of a huge plant like creature rose from the ground and slammed shut where he'd been standing a second ago.

He opened a scroll and threw two large fuma shurekien at the creature which was barreling through the dirt towards him. Two clones rose from his shadow, one taking control of the fuma shurekien and the other using the shadow binding justu to stop the fast approaching roots in place with their own shadows.

The original pulled out 9 kunai 4 in each hand one in his mouth, he streamed chakra through all 8 kunai he held simultaneously and hurled them as far as he could into the air quickly forming a set of hand signs the third Hokage knew well.

"Multi kunai shadow clone justu!" Nubutaka yelled smiling as if he liked this technique as the hundreds of kunai now filling the sky continued on there way upwards.

The fuma shurekien the clone had speed up using the magnet style hit the speeding plant like creature rebounding off if it like steel. As the creature started giving chase to one of Nubutaka's clone the real Nubutaka pulled the discarded fuma shurekien back with the magnet style and began using them to tear apart the large roots the other clone still had in shadow binds.

The plant like creature finally closed in on the clone who smiled running through a quick chain of seals.

"Summoning: steel moon cage trap." The clone slammed his palms on the ground and the creature was trapped in a steel cage which only had the top open.

The creature banged against the wall only being able to tunnel or swim. Nubutaka knew from his past battles with Yukushia that the creature couldn't jump.

"Turning around after butchering the roots the original and the other clone used magnet style to pull on the now falling kunai while the clone standing beside the cage made chakra strings righting any kunai in the wrong position and streaming chakra to a few for added attack power.

He pulled hard on the chakra strings he now had attached to all kunai as the other Nubutaka's pushed down on them with the magnet style.

The resulting kunai strikes all hit the cage like a missle barrage, the entire cage being destroyed by the powerful rain of kunai as the creatures steel like skin couldn't endure and it was unsummoned.

Nubutaka and his clones then began rushing towards Yukushia who'd been standing in her make shift forest the entire time.

As they approached vines began to shoot out of the tree's at speeds chunin would be hard pressed to dodge while roots came from the ground.

Nubutaka began slashing his way through any approaching vines and roots, his shadow blocking any he'd missed and he eventually felt both of his clones get taken out. Nubutaka finally reached the center of the forest and came to a stop a few feet away from Yukushia who'd drawn her katana already.

Vines raced from the tree's as Nubutaka smiled and began forming hand seals with one hand while the other threw a kunai with a flash bang attached to it in the air.

"Slicing shadows Justu!" Nubutaka finished his last one handed seal as the flash bang went off creating large shadows from the tree's. Shadows started to raced from everywhere in the arena and butchered the entire forest in seconds.

"Yin release: shadow stitching shadow prison technique." Nubutaka used the shadows he gathered and sent them rushing towards Yukushia who smiled.

"Yang release: Solar flare!" The kunochi started glowing like a miniature sun melting the shadows that approached her into nothingness.

Nubutaka closed the distance between them in one flicker hiding in the flash of light.

His kunai clashed with her katana as roots rose from the ground attempting to grab the man's legs.

He countered the girls smile with one of his own.

"Yin release: Walker of shadows." Nubutaka faded into his own shadow.

He reappeared a short distance away and began hurling kunai at the girl avoiding being skewered whenever a root got too close.

As she blocked kunai after kunai she closed in on him again as her sword continued to clash with his driving him back as she used the thing as if it were an extension of her being.

She began attacking simultaneously with her roots moving out of an attack letting her roots in and moving in quickly from another angle. Her attacks began becoming unpredictable as Nubutaka could only focus on defense.

Nubutaka parried blow after blow for three tiring minutes before his golden brown eyes turned a deep crimson three tomoe spinning to life around his pupils.

"Think the sharingan will help you?" Yukushia smiled as she continued her assault which she noticed Nubutaka was keeping up with easier.

"Oh but it will." He replied avoiding another root and ducking low to avoid the lethal sword swing that followed.

He jumped into the air in an arch over the girl and started hurling kunai at her faster than anyone who hadn't knew the fourth had ever seen kunai thrown. She deflected all of them and turned to face him as he landed.

Getting into her stance she readied to charge but Nubutaka flicked one of his fingers smiling as the ninja wire attached to the kunai which were spread around her became visible and snapped together trapping the poor girl in a make shift spider web that bound both her arms wrist legs ankles and neck.

Quickly with his other hand he ran through one handed seals.

"Shadow stitching justu."

Sharp tendrils rose from his shadow and the shadows of the large roots which were rushing towards him. The tendrils quickly drilled through the roots rendering them useless, and drilling into the entire ground around the immediate area making it impossible for her to create more roots to come to her aid.

"Winner of the sixth battle between Nubutaka and Yukushia Monogahi, Nubutaka Monogahi herald of steel and shadow!" The crowd went wild at the conclusion to the epic battle.

"We've really gotta start paying attention to your use of ninja wire." Yukushia smiled.

"Hey I'm not the only one. If I'd have tried to fight you inside of your forest I'd have easily like the last time." Nubutaka said loosening the wire and setting her free.

"Just consider yourself lucky I couldn't use my poisons with this crowd around us." Yukushia smirked as her and Nubutaka shared a laugh.

 **In the crowd**

"What was that?" Danzo asked their host unable to recall a kekkei genki that let one control plant life besides wood style.

"Nature style, a kekkei genki that uses the same affinities as wood style but manipulates plants instead of wood. Though not as great for combat as wood style it's great for medical justu poisons espionage intel gathering and gardening." Yoshikawa smirked at his last statement which was meant as a joke but also true.

"Interesting." Danzo replied turning his eye back to the arena.

"Father can I go next?" Hamura asked looking hopefully towards Yoshikawa.

"Of course, try to find someone on your skill level Hamura." He said as his son ran down to the outer arena just outside the main battling area where most of the shinobi spectators stood.

To the surprise of the Konoha party Hamura started talking to a young Monogahi of around eleven who had been dominating another Monogahi boy of around his age while the small boy was only five. They made their way to opposite ends of the arena.

"I forgot to mention, Nubutaka, Amaris, Hamura, and Yukushia are considered prodigies among our clan."

Hiruzen nodded now understanding why the boy was choosing to face someone much older than himself.

For a second everyone looked around then a small boy ran forward to stand between the two sheepishly rubbing his head.

"May the 13th match between Hamura and Gaedon Monogahi begin!" The small boy flickered away to the surprise of the leaf shinobi and civilian council.

"Waters style exploding water shock wave!" Gaedon shouted spitting a powerful torrent of water from his mouth creating a large rushing wave of water that threatened to engulf an entire third of the arena.

"Fire style great fire anahlation!" Hamura breathed a massive torrent of fire that only got bigger as it went. The leaf observers were completely in shock and starting to think the battle between the insanely powerful boys may turn into a threat for those present.

A lot of the Darsula village spectators smirked noticing the two were showing off. This would be a short battle considering they'd both just used two over the top techniques.

The large Justus collided shrouding the entire arena in a hot mist the none Hyuga observers had no idea what was going on in as the sounds of clashing metal could be heard.

"Earth style rock bushine!" The crowd heard Hamura called out as more metal clangs could be heard.

"Lightning style shock sky net!" Gaedon called as the crowd saw a large spark of electricity go off then dissipate.

"Wind style hurricane armor!" Hamura called parting the mist as a vortex of wind swirled around his entire body and pushed it away.

"Lightning style lightning armor!" Hamura charged Gaedon his usual genin level speed that of an low chunin now.

Gaedon countered a kunai strike with a kunai strike of his own and for a while the two engage in a sort of kenjustu battle with their kunai till Gaedon saw an opening and swept Hamura's leg out from under him pinning him with a kunai.

"Winner of the 13th match between Hamura and Gaedon Monogahi, Gaedon Monogahi!" The little boy shouted quicker than most people had known he was back in the arena.

The crowd erupted into another round of cheers and applause.

 _"Those kids must be at jonin level in ninjustu, only Madara Uchiha could use that fire justu and the water style exploding shocking wave takes a decent amount of chakra and control."_ Shikaku thought.

"Amazing those kids would probably beat most of the genin in our village with ninjustu skills and speed like that. How did they get so good?" Inoichi asked looking towards Yoshikawa.

"Everyone in our clan is naturally skilled in ninjustu. Even some A ranked justu come easy to us if it's within our chakra capabilities and our elemental affinity." The clan head replied watching his son laughing with the boy he'd just lost to.

"Amazing." Shikaku said wondering what the hell they feed the kids here.

"About your clans natural affinity for elemental ninjustu. How come your oldest son hasn't used anything besides yang release and the magnet style?" Shikaku asked.

"Those of our clan with white hair usually have an affinity for two elements and a very strong affinity for something rare like magnet or yin or yang style. Those of us with black hair have a strong affinity for all elements and tend to have more chakra. My oldest gets his white hair and the genes that come with it from his mothers father. He has an affinity for yin release and yang release, which he really hardly uses and magnet style or course which he has in common with his grandfather."

"Surely he is an admirable man and a worthy adversary!" Gai commented with his usual enthusiasm.

"Leader sama, if you don't mind I'd like to speak with Amaris about one of her justu." Kakashi cut in.

"Sure, remember you guys are guest here. Please make yourselves welcome."

"Thank you leader sama."

Later that day after a number of rather impressive matches and being introduced to the Monogahi shinobi who would be moving to Konoha to form their own clan the leaf villagers all went about on their own various adventures or endeavors.

Gai stayed at the dueling ground challenging random Monogahi all of whom he found more than eager to spare.

Danzo and his body gaurds were taken to be introduced to his new daughters.

Hiruzen and his personal gaurds went to go dress shopping for the Hokages daughter who much to his dismay shared his late wife's extravagant taste.

Shikaku laid in one of the villages many beautiful gardens resting.

Inoichi talked Choza's head off about the possibilities mixing the Yamanaka and Monogahi blood could carry as Choza stuffed his face at one of the villages best barbecues.

Tsume paid a visit to the village kennels that housed the nunken.

Hiashi and Fugaku discussed their mutual discovery that their clans dojustu weren't exclusively their's and what they thought of the Monogahi.

And Kakashi wanting answers flickered behind the silver haired girl who'd used his signature justu earlier.

The girl who felt as if someone was watching her all day after she'd left the arena turned around and saw the most striking man she'd ever laid eyes upon.

"Uh-uhm can I help you?" She asked nervous as he eyed her critically.

"Where'd you learn that lightning condensing justu? The one you used at the end of your match?" Kakashi asked in a serious tone.

"Well Mr. serious, if you really wanna know you'll have to ask me later, perhaps on a dinner date." The Monogahi smirked as the golden flecks in her eyes grew a bit brighter.

Kakashi searched his mind for a reason she would choose that specific condition for him to have his question answered when it hit him and he looked at the beautiful women in shock.

"Oh my gosh you're so cute don't make that face! I'm pretty sure a handsome guy like you probably has his fair pick of the ladies back in Konaha." She smiled stepping a bit closer to observe him closely.

Kakashi on his part only blushed harder and averted his gaze.

"Oh my gosh you haven't! Could it be you're a virgin?" The kunochi asked tilting her head and getting yet closer.

"What kind of question is that to ask a total stranger!" Kakashi shouted embarrassed.

"Oh my gooosh so it's truuue...Don't worry mask kun! I am too surely this must be fate! I mean we both have silver hair it's only right we end up having sex one day and getting married and having babies and- waaait mask kun!" Amaris called as Kakashi who'd already had his fair share of embarrassment and had started developing a nose bleed when she mentioned sex and babies and hurriedly bolted away across the roaf tops.

 **-5 days later-**

Around 50 members of the Monogahi clan stood with the leaf party in the middle of the sealing array they'd been teleported to the place inside.

It'd been a glorious stay for all the visitors excluding Danzo who only wanted to return to the leaf to begin training his new daughters who despite his protest clung to his side since he'd been introduced as their new father.

The two day celebration had been an evening all that participated in would remember. The Monogahi were extremely welcoming a trait that also carried over to the civilian family's.

Tsumi and Choza had the time of their lives once word got out that the two had an appetite. They had been invited into home's or restaurants to feast or to dine more times than they could remember.

Staying over people's house's during their stay eating breakfast, going out to eat, sparing, going back to the house for lunch, going out to eat again, sparing, going in the house to eat dinner, drinking and playing cards sharing stories, wake up go over someone else's house for breakfast.

The two had never knew such hospitality in a foreign village or even in their own that made them so immediately comfortable. Some of the villagers loved them so much the first request for a barrier pass had been sent to Yoshikawa about them which he agreed to and told the two to feel free to visit any time as long as they kept the villages existence and location a secret from all but their most trustworthy family members.

Inoichi having also received a pass on his last day in the words of more than a few villagers was the life of the party. He'd gotten tipsy and next thing you knew he had everyone trying to out dance him.

He'd blacked out a few times during the celebration but always found himself cared for as if he was in his own home no matter where he had been by total strangers who considered it a pleasure to help him. Inoichi loved that such a powerful and wealthy village governed by a clan could be so hospitable. He hoped for strong ties between Darsula and Konoha in the near future.

Shikaku had slept through most of it often times waking up and finding people relaxing or sleeping in the field around him. He even received a scroll on the yin release techniques Nubutaka had learned so far as well as gotten a few good shogi games in. All in all he thought the village and it's inhabitants to be very peaceful and relaxing. Signing this agreement with them was definitely the best move for the leaf right now. He woke up to a barrier pass and a note inviting him to nap under the clouds of Darsula village again sometime.

Hiruzen who spent most of his time talking to shinobi and civilians alike about the world outside their village and his life as Hokage found the beautiful village and it's cheery people to be entirely charming. He hadn't known answering questions none stop for so many days would be enjoyable.

Danzo had spent his time learning more of the Monogahi clans kekkei genki and what abilities might manifest themselves in the new Shimura hier's in the future, as well as having a few talks on other matters with Yoshikawa and Nubutaka.

The councilers had just tailed the Hokage and his personal escorts or Danzo when they could find him for the majority of the trip.

Kakashi had found himself ditfully trying to avoid his new stalker, not that Kakashi didn't find her attractive, quite the opposite. He found her extremely beautiful and powerful as well which made him nervous when she'd talk casually to him of her romantic feelings or sexual desire's. Kakashi having never spared time to anything other than his ninja career in life and never finding a female he thought worthy of his time simply didn't know how to react.

Gai had brawled with a countless number of Darsula villagers, most from the Monogahi clan and gained himself a barrier pass and a few buddies who seemed to be as enthusiastic about training together again sometime as him.

Fugaku and Hiashi both spoke with Yoshikawa about an arranged marriage and an alliance of shorts between their clans which the clan head politely rejected saying that the fate and lives of those in his clan were their own to control.

Neither of the stern clan heads could have been said to have had enjoyed themselves but they both saw and opportunity in ensuring close ties with the Monogahi who'd be moving to Konaha as the villages newest clan.

The others who accompanied the group had spent the trip guarding the Hokage and council members just as a formality when they all realized they were completely safe.

Needless to say most of them would miss something they'd grown fond of during their brief stay in Darsula village.

"Nubutaka, Hamura." A tall fair skinned women with the brightest yellow eyes in the village and floor length black hair stepped away from the side of Hamura and stood smiling away tears at her sons who were all set to depart to the leaf village with around fifty more members of their clan.

"It has been an honor raising and watching you both grow into the young men you are today. Take care of each other and more importantly the clan. I know your father made the right decision choosing you to be its first clan head Nubutaka. You always were too smart for your own good." Nubutaka smiled sadly at his mother's complement.

"Hamura since your brother will be the clan head it'll be his job to protect and look out for everyone and as such it'll be your job to protect him, so you'll need to be the strongest in the clan maybe even the leaf village if u can be." Hanaha huged her sons wishing her children weren't among the most talented in the village and Yoshikawa did make a good point when he said it'd be cruel for them to ask this of others if they weren't willing to do it themselves.

Hamura teared up returning the hug promising he would. It was a sad event as everyone said their goodbyes and suddenly the return party to the leaf village was standing in a forest again five miles east of the place they would now all call home.

 **Fun fact #1**

 _I never intended to upload this fanfic here or anywhere. I made it to help me cure my occasional boredom but when my note pad got full a couple words into the second chapter I realized all the time and thought I put into the story so far and figured why not, I might as well upload this somewhere. So I copy pasted and added words to make it all kinda make sense and that's where chapter one and two come from and why they have so many errors. Originally the fic was just something I'd work on when I was bored. I'm working on the errors in between writting chapters though_.


	2. Chapter 2

**After putting more thought into the kind of story I wanted to make I decided my OC'S will have a more prominent role than I originally thought but the story will still focus on the shinobi world being influenced by their presence in it. Naruto will eventually become a main character in this fic but for the most part I'll be doing the story from different POVS to make the characters and the story** **more** **interesting as well as to give it more development and a broader view. If you're looking for a main character it's likely you won't find one. Different characters will be focused on more at different points or archs, like Naruto will be focused on when we reach the point where part one starts but as of now he's only ever been mentioned. Every important character will have their time when it comes. Here's a line up of characters we'll see focused on individually later in the story. Naruto, Hinata, Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, Neji, Lee, Kakashi (of course lol) Might Gai, Anko (who will come in earlier than most on the list) Saskue, Sakura, Garaa, Itachi and possibly Shisue who I don't know if I'll kill off yet. If you guys have any ideas for pairings for any charecters I've listed besides Naruto Hinata and Kakashi and Anko who will be paired with an OC and Shikamaru and Temari (of course lemme know)**

 _Bonds_

 **3KWords**

 **1 Year later**

Hamura sat on top of a rock inside one of the leaf villages many training fields taking in the sunlight as he meditated on the different dormant chakra signatures only detectable by him inside of his blood.

Feeling as if he'd made enough progress today Hamura stood preparing to head home but instead found himself quickly tilting his head avoiding a lethal kunai throw. Before Hamura could turn and see who was behind the attack he heard more kunai being thrown.

Quickly leaping off the rock five kunai sunk into not even a second later, Hamura did a quick 360 in the air and threw some kunai of his own towards the tree's where he thought the previous attack had come from.

To his satisfaction he heard the sound of metal on metal indicating a person had blocked the kunai. Wanting to get to the bottom of this Hamura flickered to the spot closest to his would be attacker.

He was surprised to see two young raven haired boys of around his age both wearing the Uchiha crest, the younger of the two who's hair was shoulder length held the older boys ear in a pincher grip making Hamura wince.

"Ow-ow-ow-ow oouucchh! Come on Itachi lemme go!" The older boy with the short spiked hair cried.

"No. Me and father have told you not to go randomly attacking people and you did it again anyway. Remember what happened the last time?" The younger Uchiha started scolding the older one much to Hamura's surprise.

"Oh come on totally not my fault, that guy was a jonin, you'd think he'd have better reflexes! Ooowwww, come on Itachi!"

"That's not the point Shisui the point is if you want decent sparing partners it'd be best to introduce yourself without trying to kill that person first."

Shisui's face stopped showing pain as he developed a thoughtful expression. "But how else am I gonna know if they're a good shinobi." Shisui questioned looking serious causing Itachi to sigh and let go of his ear.

"What am I gonna do with you?" Itachi asked a now smiling Shisui.

Hamura perked up hearing the boy mention finding a sparing partner.

"So you threw those kunai at me because you wanted to test my reflexes?" Hamura asked looking towards the boy named Shisui.

"Pardon my friends eagerness towards battle and his lack of restraint, I hope we haven't offended you in anyway." Itachi said apologizing for Shisui.

"No biggie I think I'll live." Hamura smiled causing Shisui to mimick him.

"Nice reflexes dude, my names Shisui Uchiha and this is Itachi the clans next hier. It isn't often we see kids our age using Shinobi training fields, you wouldn't happen to be interested in a friendly spare would you?" Shisui asked hopefully.

"Heck yeah I'd be interested! What are the rules?"

"None, stay alive and try to beat me." Shisui smirked flickering back to the training field and forming the seal of confrontation.

Hamura smirked as well and followed his lead. Itachi sighed hoping Shisui would take it easy on the boy till he caught sight of the diamond crest with blood drops inside.

 _"I haven't seen that crest before, I wonder what clan he's from."_ Itachi thought as he came to stand between the boys.

"Ready?" He asked looking towards both fighters who nodded their consent. "Hajime!" Itachi dropped his hand signaling the start of the match and both fighters pulled kunai and rushed each other.

They engaged in a short kenjustu battle Shisui dominating Hamura who flickered away to gain some distance. "Earth style rock bushine."

Two rock clones rose from the ground and charged the still smiling Uchiha as Hamura began making hand signs.

"Earth style: pummeling rocks justu!" Hamura thrust his hands forward and the earth opened spitting rocks at Shisui forcing him to jump and flicker around the training field avoiding not just the rocks but Hamura's clones which were trying to box him in so the justu would hit.

Feeling the pressure as a large rock nearly grazed his face right before Shisui flickered he began forming the seals of one of his favorite justu. "Fire style: phoniex fire justu!" Shisui shouted as he reappeared catching one of the rock bushine by surprise blasting it to bits.

The Uchiha then quickly flickered again avoiding more rocks reappearing and blasting another fireball towards the real Hamura who's clone jumped in front of the approaching fireball. "Water style water bullet!" The clone spit a compressed ball of water towards the fireball both Justu canceling each other out.

Hamura and his clone didn't notice the kunai Shisui hide in the fireball till they sunk into Hamura's rock bushine which was still standing in front of him.

"Glad I made a rock bushine." Hamura said smiling at how useful these clones could be thanks to their durability.

"I wouldn't be so sure." Shisui smirked channeling chakra to the explosive tags on the kunai embedded inside the clone.

The resulting explosion made Hamura cover his eyes as pieces of rock flew everywhere.

Shisui seeing Hamura take his eyes off him for just a second saw an easy victory and used his recently aquired favorite Justu to appear behind the clan head who much to the surprise of Shisui had even without his eyes saw him coming.

"Earth dome justu!" Hamura spoke forming a quick chain of hand signs with speed that impressed even Itachi. As quickly as the Justu was called out a thick dome of earth formed around Hamura, keeping Shisui from landing the immobilizing blow on the back of his neck he was going for.

Outside the dome Shisui smiled thinking this would be more fun than he thought while Hamura did the same thing mimicking Shisui's thoughts inside the dome.

"Earth style exploding shrapnel dome justu!" Hamura called out the name of his attack so Shisui didn't get to hurt by it hopefully.

Shisui hearing the name of the attack got clear of the area in one body flicker impressed at the young Shinobi in trainings show of earth style justu so far. It made him wonder what clan he was from to have used these semi advanced earth style techniques this early in the fight. Was it no big deal for his reserves or was it all a distraction?

Meanwhile Itachi who had ducked behind a tree to avoid the rock dome shrapnel, unknown to Hamura was feeling his interest peek more. Maybe Shisue was right about this guy being a good sparing partner how he had figured that out by watching him sit on a rock though Itachi would never know.

To the surprise of Shisue after the dust from the domes explosion cleared there was no sight of the boy he had just been fighting. It only began to make sense when a pair of hands snaked out from the ground grabbed the Uchiha's ankles and pulled him into the earth till only his head poked through.

The Monogahi boy satisfied with his work popped out of the earth with a wide grin on his face. "I used the earth style hiding like a mole technique right after I used the exploding dome technique knowing that with all the dust you'd probably still have your attention focused on the area of the dome if u managed to get clear of the attack so I used the earth style head hunter technique to find u from underground and imobilize you."

Shisue was impressed to say the least. _"This guy's way better than I originally thought using earth style justu after earth style justu with ease like that and coming up with a strategy to disable me so quickly."_ This is gonna be great hopefully after I win he'll agree to spare with us some other time!' Shisue was beaming from his spot in the hole.

"You're really good I'm glad I threw that Kunai at you, only other person around my age who's ever managed to disable me was Itachi and there aren't even a lot of adults who could do that." Shisue said with an excited look on his face. "This isn't over yet though not by a long shot." said Shisue cockly before disappearing in a poof of smoke.

"Crap!" Breathed Hamura dodging some Kunai from the tree's pivoting on his left foot to hurry up and turn bringing his right forearm up to block a left handed attack aimed at the base of his neck Shisue not wasting time went for a sweep with his right leg Hamura jumped away breaking contact as Shisue started running through a set of hands signs he used earlier. _"Fire style:Phoenix Fire justu."_

Hamura had to quickly rebound off the ground again as the Uchiha spat a fire ball only to have to jump as soon as he landed to avoid another finding himself trapped in the air as Shisue released another glowing ball of heat. Running through hand signs at a pace both of the Uchiha could admire in a comrade and a sparing partner Hamura released a blast of water dosing the fire ball on contact and blocking the kunai that came behind it, he landed softly on his feet. Shisue not that far away was running at him forming hand seals making two shadow clones one on either side. He had failed to notice before but Shisue's eyes burned with the tell tale crimson of a sharingan which explained why he'd suddenly been able to create and detect openings easier.

"Nice try but I won't let u gain two advantages on me that easily." Hamura quickly began forming the same hand seals creating two shadow clones one on either side smiling simultaneously at the Shisue's who smiled back in turn.

"I knew u were full of surprises." Said Shisue closing the distance engaging in a taijustu battle where he obviously had the upper hand.

"Oh u ain't seen nothin yet." Hamura smiled one of his clones exploding taking the Shisue clone he was fighting with him.

"What the-" Shisue found himself cut off as Hamura's last clone broke off from it's own fight and started attacking Shisue along with it's creator. Shisue's clone responded quickly coming to the aid of it's master engaging the real Hamura who suddenly exploded throwing Shisue across the clearing and dispelling both clones. Suddenly another Hamura landed beside the now fallen Shisue offering a hand.

"When did u switch yourself out with a shadow clone?" Shisue asked trying not to let the pain from getting caught in that last explosion show. "When I used the earth dome and went underground I created a shadow clone that would fight in my place till I could gauge your abilities some more and look for the best way to take you down. When my clones both started attacking you, and your clone went to attack what u thought was the real me while u focused on the other clone, I knew if I blew up the one that u thought was real it'd be too unexpected plus the fact that u thought one of them was the real me would make u less concerned about the clone explosion technique while they were near each other."

"Bravo! Next time I'll have to take u seriously!" Shisue said with a wide smile body still reeling from the explosion. "I hope I didn't hurt u too much with that explosion but I really wanted the win haha." Hamura said rubbing the back of his head. "No problem dude I'm still alive aren't I? I'll be fine by tomorrow."

"Good to hear maybe we can get another match then?" Hamura asked hopeful. "Of course dude we definitely gotta do this some more right Itachi?"

"Definitely it isn't often we find someone who may prove a challenge and help us improve our skills, I look forward to training with you...what did you say your name was?" The calmer Uchiha of the pair questioned.

"Ohhh right hahaha my bad kinda got caught up in all the excitement. My names Hamura Monogahi nice to meet you two." Hamura rubbed the back of his head still laughing eyes glowing a brighter shade of yellow then they had been previously which went unnoticed. "Kinda always forget to introduce myself to new people, Darsula village is kinda big but almost everybody there knows each other."

"No way you're from the legendary Monogahi clan! Do you know u guys had become a myth before your clan sent you here! How come you guys decided to come to Konaha?! Is it true what they say about your abilities, can u emulate or somehow copy my sharingan?!"

"I think that's too many questions to be asking at once Shisue..." Offered the ever calm Uchiha who Hamura noticed was looking at him with a bit more interest.

"I guess it's cool my clan members are all busy either doing missions or getting cosy with the upper Echelons of the leaf. No doubt my father knew who to send to make sure one day the name Monogahi would be as noble and well respected as the Hyuga or as powerful and revered as the Uchiha, I'm pretty sure whether or not we're really in Konaha is a huge mystery even after us being here about a year especially if the crowd of civilians I still see outside our compond is anything to go off..." Hamura pondered where to start before continuing.

"Well we came to Konoha because my father Yoshikawa Monogahi feels the time for us to come out of hiding is soon and he wants for us to not only have allies but for our power to be known."

"Secondly because with the state that the village has been in recently with all the enemies it's made, my father told me with the way things look right now Konoha may just be the target of the world... whatever that means. Having our clan here now will help to deter more war threats or breakouts or who knows, a bloodline as useful as ours may actually hasten it but the thing about that is nobody knows how many Monogahi went into hiding. Konaha's enemies probably think our entire clan is here so war at the moment would be something entirely out of the question that's why most of the adults in my clan that came here are always super busy, gotta be sure to show the Monogahi weren't just legend and we're back and working with the leaf now."

Shisue looked to be in deep thought while Itachi seemed to have digested the information easily probably having already figured as much.

"Well I guess that makes sense but what about your bloodline exactly what's does it do?" Shisue asked curiosity plan in his voice.

"Well I guess it's like my clans ability is in our blood it's like a well or like a storage place that holds everything in the clan that's ever been passed down the line or commingled into the clans blood. Like bloodlines, abilities gained, and even certain techniques mastered. We can use our affinity with our blood and get familiar with it learning how to unlock and make avaliable the bloodlines abilities and techniques within."

"Certain abilities bloodlines and techniques will manifest themselves without having to unlock them if they are strong within the blood. Like my brother Nubutaka who awakened the magnet style by mistake one day when reaching for a kunai he dropped, also there's two different types of Monogahi."

"Those of us with black hair who are called elemental purebloods and those of us with lighter shades like white who are called treasure keepers. It'd take a while to explain the differences in detail but to summarize it us with black hair have affinities for all natural elements while the keepers have affinities for two or three and rare affinities like magnet style or yin and yang release."

This time even Itachi looked surprised but nothing like Shisui who was standing there speechless with his mouth open. "Wow that's...that's amazing...no wonder your people were so legendary once." Itachi broke the silence calm demeanor back in place. "I guess." Hamura replied uncaring.

"So what kind of bloodlines are in your blood?" Asked the ever curious Shisui. "The sharingan for one." Hamura smirked at the Uchiha, another surprised look on Shisui's face Itachi calm as ever.

"My family's been around since the waring states era so I posses every bloodline the clans ever assimilated but we can't just choose whatever we want. S ome of us aren't fit for certain bloodlines and depending on which your blood takes to u can't awaken others. I couldn't have a bayakugan and a Sharingan at the same time once my blood chose which ocular bloodline it took to more that'd be the one I forever unlocked."

"The other would be dormant until my child's line, my father has the Byakugan but he thinks I will get the sharingan like my brother because of my preference for earth and firestyle ninjustu. When we integrate a certain bloodline trait that's the one we get permanently, if I choose a bloodline like the Hozuki liquid form then any other body modification type such as the Kaguya style bone manipulation would be dormant in me forever."

"There are some bloodlines that can actually be awakened more than once but those are the rarer one's people hardly make use of these days since everyday isn't a struggle for life like in the warring states era. My clan still trains like those days exist though, for what reason I don't know." Hamura said with a small grin as if proud of that little piece of information.

with

Again both Uchiha were silent. "That's amazing..." Shisui stuttered. "Indeed" agreed Itachi.

"Thanks guys. Hamura smiled "Now Itachi, how's about that match."

 **Hope this chapter is a decent one I'm still haunted by all the errors I made in the first chapter three is in the making. Expect more of Itachi Shisui and Hamura, who I wanted to name Kabuyao but didn't want any confusion because he was called Hamura all towards the end of chapter one. At this point I'll be building the village around the view points of our current main charecters Nubutaka Shisui Itachi and Hamura and the story will progress and develop from there. Sorry IG this chapters a short one chapter three's in the making.**

 **Fun fact #2**

 _Names might get mixed up in the first three chapters because when I decided to upload the fic I decided to change some names to something more appealing and sometimes I either forgot and used the older names or I just left old names in there by mistake. I'm going back and correcting errors between chapters so eventually this won't be a problem._


	3. Chapter 3

**Took me longer than I thought it would but it's finally done I should have the next chapter out faster I'll probably be doing at least one chapter a week. I've got the app now which really makes this way easier from my smart phone, hope you like this chapter I'll be bringing in a character I bet no one will guess in next one where the pace of the story will pick up and start heading towards early canoon. To those of you that followed or added this story to your favorites I really appreciate it.**

 **Two months later:** Nubutaka's POV

Konoha's newest clan head sighed as he walked through one of the villages main streets.

He'd just came back from another involuntary game of shogi with Danzo, who by now grew accustomed to Nubutaka's habit of appearing out of the shadows and challenging him to a game as he directed the training of the twins. He'd actually started taking advice from the man he came to respect for his skill in combat infiltration tactics and politics, Danzo still didn't trust him of course as he trusted no one, nor did he like him either as he liked no one, but he still could respect the young clan heads skill and he found his presence tolerable.

"Nubutaka sama" The clan head stopped turning around hearing two familiar voices. "Hey brats I told you not to call me sama." Nubutaka said mostly joking as he glared at the shorter haired Uchiha who paled. "No fair Nubutaka sama why do I always get the death glare but Itachi doesn't?"

"Because Shisui, Itachi knows I don't like formalities and seeing as he doesn't talk much, half the time we see each other if he feels there is no need for formalities he will simply nod, but when he's with you he has to appear just as formal possibly even more so as clan hier."

"Itachi doesn't care, he's the type of guy that likes burdens anyway." Shisui chuckled at his own joke.

"Not funny Shisui." Itachi said really sounding indifferent.

"Nothings funny to you Itachi." Shisui replied.

"I think he might be right it's been two months and I've still never seen you laugh." Hamura said catching up with his new friends. Itachi remained silent at his comment as Shisui smirked.

"So where you guys headed to?" Nubutaka asked curiously.

"One of the Uchiha personal training fields. The elders really like watching me and Shisui spare with someone our age around the same skill level. I'm pretty sure they also hope it'll increase relations between our clan in the future." Itachi answered before the others could.

"Mind if I come with?" Nubutaka asked Itachi hoping the boy would agree so he could escape his boredom temporarily.

"I don't see why not I'm sure the elders would like that."

Nubutaka smiled and turned around walking towards the Uchiha compond with the boys.

When Nubutaka and the boys arrived at the Uchiha training field he wasn't surprised to see about a dozen or so clans men sitting around intent on observing the Monogahi boy spare with their own.

"Nubutaka, pleasure to have you make it as well. The elders were thrilled when your brother started accompanying Shisui and Itachi to our daily training sessions here at the compond. As I'm sure you may know their considered the stars among the next generation of our clan and you brothers companionship is helping them to improve faster than usual by giving them an opponent they're nearly on equal footing with, rather than one who has to tone it down to their level." Fugaku said standing and walking over to greet his fellow clan head.

"Come to observe today's battle as we have?" He asked referring to the assembly of adult males in the Uchiha clan who sat or stood around the training field eyes on Nubutaka.

"Actually I've come hoping to participate." Nubutaka smiled at the Uchiha clan head who'd come to respect him and his clan mates over the months they'd been here.

"Participate how exactly?" Fugaku asked.

"With the way the leaf is now it's economy stands to make a full recovery in around another year or so thanks to the trade agreements with Darsula village, so the only thing left to work on will once again be it's military power. I think there's a high chance Shisue Itachi and Hamura will be placed on a team together when they graduate from the academy as a show to the world Konoha is still producing prodical young and powerful shinobi. I'd like to go up against the three of them together to test their teamwork as well as individual skills." Murmurs were heard among the Uchiha which Fugaku ignored pondering Nubutaka's statement and request.

"I see no reason why not, try not to go too easy on them." Fugaku said walking back to his seat as Nubutaka walked into the field opposite the boys smiling wickedly.

"Begin!" Fugaku shouted.

Hamura began rushing through hand seals as his brother just stood there. "Fire style phoniex fire justu." Hamura spat a fire ball at his brother which he easily dodged by jumping to the left, Hamura spat another set as Nubutaka leapt around the field casually dodging the fireballs and the expertly thrown kunai of Itachi and Shisue who's attempts to capitalize on Hamura's distraction failed.

With all the dust and the smoke in the field Nubutaka rushed forward relying on his usually good intuition to guide him. In the dust he found his target as his kunai clashed with another locking in a power struggle he easily had the advantage in and would've soon won had Shisue not come from behind him forcing him to flicker away or take a kunai to the back.

As he reappeared a short distance away he felt slight movement in the ground underneath his feet, he lept into the air just as a pair of hands rose from the dirt in an attempt to grab his ankles. Still smiling Nubutaka twisted his body in the air blocking a quick barrage of kunai Shisue had thrown with his own kunai. He began running through hand seals with one hand seeing Itachi forming a chain of hand seals he was all too familiar with.

"Fire style grand fireball justu!" Itachi breathed a huge fire ball at the still falling Nubutaka who finished his seals just in time. "Yin style: Evasive shroud of darkness." Nubutaka disappeared in a shroud of darkness and shadows reappearing a couple feet away.

"Earth style flatting wall!" The earth around Nubutaka rose and closed seemingly flattened him but Hamura knew better.

"Hamura behind you!" Itachi yelled. Hamura quickly jumping a good distance forward from whatever it was Itachi was warning him of, turning around after he felt safe.

Hamura saw a shadow on the ground with a long tendril retreating away from where he'd just been.

"Good." Nubutaka said rising from the shadow with eight kunai in hand one in his mouth.

"Guys watch ou-" Hamura was cut off as his brother threw four of the kunai in his direction and he was forced to evade the projectiles same as Itachi and Shisui who both had kunai thrown at them too.

Nubutaka quickly flickered to Shisui as him choosing to block the kunai rather than dodge left him the most open at the moment. Shisui would've received an immobilizing kick to the stomach had Itachi not flickered to his aide and anticipated the move blocking the kick and engaging Nubutaka in a kenjustu battle with their kunai, where even with his sharingan Itachi was clearly in over his head.

"Fire style fire slinger!" Hamura said causing flames to cover his elbows all the way to his hands as he started hurling fire balls from his finger tips at his brother as soon as he'd seen Itachi gain some distance. Shisui Itachi and two Hamura rock bunshin charged him from different angles as the real Hamura kept him on the defensive.

"Earth style mud wall." One of Hamura's rock bushine flickered a good distance behind them and created a large wall Nubutaka knew he'd be forced to back up into eventually if things persisted this way.

"Fire style grand fireball justu!" Both Uchiha boys shouted at the same time exhaling two powerful fire balls. "Fire style great tide of flame!" Hamura's other clone swung his head exhaling a large rushing torrent of flame Nubutaka found himself unable to avoid thanks to the mud wall and the small barrage of fireballs Hamura was still throwing to keep him trapped.

"Bravo." The man smiled at their effortless team work before the devestating combo of fire justu engulfed him creating a huge explosion that rocked the Uchiha compond and destroyed a portion of their personal training field.

When the smoke cleared there was no sign of Nubutaka causing some of the Uchiha to gasp as all was quiet and Shisui looked guiltily towards Hamura.

"My father and lord third have my brother to be nearly a Kage level fighter in terms of skill saying he has a mind for strategy like the fourth with the skills to back it up. Stay on alert he wants you to let your gaurd down." Hamura said wishing he was a sensory type.

"Nubutaka sama a kage level fighter no way." Shisui said disbelievingly.

"Yes way..." Came the voice of Nubutaka out of thin air behind Shisui before the boy had his left arm grabbed and shoved roughly behind his back as some invisible force held a kunai to his throat before becoming visible and revealing itself to be the man everyone was looking for.

"That one was yang style: world reflection. An invisibility justu I created."

Hamura seeing his friend in trouble quickly charged his brother creating a rock bunshin to replace the one who'd been caught in the explosion and forming the hand signs for a fire style ninjustu. Nubutaka kicked Shisui away preparing for the upcoming attack. Both of the bushine pulled out a Kunai as one used the flicker to appear behind Nubutaka for a distraction only to have his shadow rise behind his back to stop every kunai.

Shisui created a shadow clone and with it ran towards Nubutaka with Hamura's clone engaging him in taijustu as the real Hamura leapt into the air just finishing his seals.

"Fire style ember rain of bullets!" Hamura opened his mouth and hundreds of burning embers raced towards Nubutaka who quickly faded into his shadow to avoid the devastating area attack, but not before trapping Hamura's first rock bunshin along with Shisui's in place with the shadow paralysis justu.

Shisui flickered away at the last second, the ember bullets tearing into the clones dispelling them and burning the ground more than it had been burned previously.

Nubutaka rose from a shadow a couple of feet away as he felt a tug on his mind indicating genjustu he pulsed his chakra and blocked the kunai of a young Itachi Uchiha who he didn't see charging at him a second before.

"Great timing with that genjustu, you almost had me there." Nubutaka said pivoting to the left to dodge a kunai he somehow knew was coming and breaking contact with the young Itachi. Hamura's last clone and Shisui charged him at the same time with their kunai as Hamura and Itachi stood back waiting for an opening.

Nubutaka easily kept up with both of their attacks only using one kunai to block both of theirs never seeming pressured and even smiling at them as he allowed himself to be pushed back. Suddenly Itachi and Hamura saw him slip on his footwork and they were upon him attacking in a flurry with Shisui and the rock bunshin pushing him further and further back till the man smiled and whirled around taking a kunai swipe at the air and just like that it was over.

The usual brand of dull ninja wire Nubutaka used snapped closed around Shisui's legs and right arm Itachi's neck right arm and leg and Hamura's core left arm and neck, the boys all reacted quickly, each already knowing exactly what they needed to do to escape the trap but before any of them could actually do it clones of Nubutaka rose from their shadows putting a kunai to each of their necks.

"Good spare brother though I wish you didn't always end them with ninja wire." Hamura smiled at his brother who smiled back and helped the boys out of the wire trap as the elders and the Uchiha clan head clapped showing their approval.

"Ninja wiring techniques are very under appreciated and under valued. I just like showing others exactly how useful it can can be before it one day becomes a dead art." Nubutaka said picking up some of the wires he'd been talking about.

Once the Uchiha boys and his brother was down they began discussing different strategies about how to better deal with the situation they were just in should one similar rise again. Nubutaka knew one day the talented young boys would possibly make the finest team the leaf had ever seen.

"When did you lay the wire trap?" Shisue asked what everyone wanted to know.

"Now now Mr curious, a good ninja must never reveal all of hi-"

"Excuse me Nubutaka sama! My name is Hatsue Uchiha and I couldn't help but hear what u said about the wiring arts." Nubutaka turned around raising an eyebrow at the beautiful Uchiha girl who's hair nearly touched the ground.

"I've always wanted to excel at ninja wiring techniques but the few people in the village that are actually skilled in that respect hardly teach it to others because of the dangers and complications that come with learning and preforming the techniques and later adapting them for your own fights but its a very beautiful art I really want to learn so if its not too much trouble-"

"GIRL!!! Who do you think you are to interrupted and request a favor of a clan head and of one of the noble clans at that! I have told you before you are not to run around pestering others to help you with the training and learning of techniques no one wants to teach. You owe this man an apology for your rude interruption of his thoughts as well as your rude introduction without a proper greeting." The man hissed at the girl who flinched at his words as as if hurt physically.

Before Nubutaka could say anything the girl was in a bow head down in her hands which lay on the ground.

"I apologize for my rude and foolhardy behavior Nubutaka sama, it was foolish of me to ask a favor of nobility and even more foolish of me to attempt to speak to you without the proper greetings. I hope I have brought my family no shame on this day, on my honor I will not pester you again lord." The girl stood to walk away and Nubutaka thought he saw tears welling in her eyes.

He said it was alright but for the most part ignored the elderly man who came to him apologizing about his granddaughter. Using the magnet style he'd been refraining from using last match Nubutaka wrapped two strings of ninja wire around her left wrist picking up the other ends with his right hand and pulling on it lightly making it visible for all others also alerting her to it's presence around her wrist.

She stopped and looked down, Nubutaka seeing a tear fall before she followed the string back to his hand and her expression changed from that of pure sadness to one of confusion and disbelief.

"Me and your grandfather will work out the most appropriate times for you to undergo training. I want you to take home these two strings and learn as much from them as you can. I don't expect much because you're new, but just keep those strings close to you and come up with as many uses for them in a combat scenario as you can think of." Nubutaka said moving towards her and wrapping the rest of the long strings around her left wrist as she watched him with disbelieving eyes.

He was surprised by her demeanor, as if she couldn't believe what was happening. "Don't look so shocked I really like how you referred to ninja wiring as an art, and the passion for it I can see in your eyes. It would be an honor to train you, just one condition though which would be no honorifics when u address me. We're around the same age and I don't like them anyway so there's really no need."

The entire area around the training field was silent as everyone paid close attention to what was going on.

Hatsue smiled brightly. "Of course Nubutaka sam- Nubutaka." She developed a light blush saying the man's name in such all familiar way.

"Good." He said smiling. "Your grandfather will give you the time we settled upon soon, until then." He said wondering why making her happy had felt so satisfying.

"Okay sensei, I'll see you then." She said turning to leave looking like the happiest person in Konaha.

Fugaku walked over to stand beside the man. "Only a year here and you've already gained the respect of most of the noble clans even the admiration of a few." Fugaku smirked lightly. "I don't suppose that's another ability those with your kekkei genki possess?"

"I honestly wouldn't know but as soon as it works on that stick in the mud Hiashi or the man of eternal grey Danzo Shimura I'll let you know." Hamura smirked as Fugaku's almost got big enough to really notice.

"Be sure you do, I could use that to get Shikaku to forget about our little shogi bet."

"What kind of shogi bet?"Nubutaka tilted his head as Fugaku went to open his mouth but waved a hand dismissively.

"Nothing important just something I'd be better off without, but anyway that was an excellent spare, your brother using an A ranked fire style justu with ease surely surprised most of the elders who didn't already know of his skill. I'm sure they'll be watching that boys growth till he's of the right age for a marriage proposal." Fugaku said watching Hamura teach his own fire style techniques even some of the elders seemed eager to learn.

"I'm sure of it but we Monogahi don't choose who marries who in our clan. That decision is always left to the person it affects." Nubutaka said following the man's eyes.

Fugaku couldn't understand what kind of custom that was but he knew different clans operated in different ways so he choose not to comment on it. Besides the way Hatsue had been looking at Nubutaka before she left told him there might be a chance someone from the Monogahi would still eventually mix blood with their's.

Fugaku hoped it to be Nubutaka not only because he was clan head but as to him he was undoubtedly the most impressive of the clan he had seen so far, or maybe just as well it be Hamura as he'd already proven to be on the same level of his son and the Uchiha's other prodigy Shisui. It helped that he was constantly using or creating new fire style ninjustu which would definitely add to the clans already impressive arsenal of justu, fire style being the favorite by far.

For somewhere near two hours Nubutaka stayed and watched the next couple of matches between the youngest members of the clan watching Hamura and Shisue giving them advice. He was surprised by how the younger Uchiha's who usually considered themselves above others respected Hamura who was younger than some of those he was talking to.

In that time Nubutaka learned his little brother was favored greatly among the Uchiha elders and more advanced with his Fire Earth and Water style than he had thought seeing him show some of the elders an amazing new technique he was developing with the help of the Uchiha.

Upon Fugaku's request he would occasionally spare with Shisui and Itachi at his compond or their's. When the sun was going down Hamura headed back home while he took a slight detor through the shadows.

He rose from one of the many shadows inside of the candlelit room in which Danzo liked to train his daughters or his newest assets which was what Nubutaka saw them as in the eyes of Danzo.

The shadow morpher approached the ninja of shadow the latter being aware of the formers presence since he stepped from the shadows.

"They've really improved their taijustu since coming to Konaha." Nubutaka remarked after a short while of watching them spare.

"Naturally." Danzo remarked not taking his one good eye off the fight.

"Imari, Inoha, that's enough taijustu practice for today. I'll be in my office, be sure to clean yourselves before bed." Danzo said to the girls standing and leaving to head towards the office of the Shimura clan head.

"Yes father!" They remarked quickly, waiting for Danzo to leave the room and running to Nubutaka for a hug.

"Buta sama, why didn't you bring Hamura with you?" Inoha pouted.

"He had a long day today so he went straight home to get some rest...besides, I only came to see how you two were doing at the academy and check up with Danzo."

"We're still best in our class Taka sama, dad said that he's proud!" Imari said loving to impress Nubutaka and her father who hadn't opened up even slightly to her and her sister but didn't treat them just as tools either per his agreement with Yoshikawa.

"That's awesome! What kind of stuff are you two learning?" For the next hour Nubutaka sat and talked with his cousins about their lives with Danzo and at the academy and much to his satisfaction they each seemed to be happy with both.

Bidding his distant cousin's goodbye Nubutaka faded into the shadows of the Shimura clan dojo rising from the shadows in the corner of the clan heads office where he'd been dealing with most of his affairs from lately since his daughters weren't allowed near a NEE facility.

"Anything I should know or that u want to know before I take my leave?" Nubutaka asked knowing Danzo to be a very curious man.

"Four days ago during a routine spare Inoha seemingly broke her sisters leg but Imari apparently felt no pain and Inoha has been waking up to beds covered in crystals lately. I know this to be a possible implication of the rare crystal style but the lack of pain Imari shows when breaking bones is somewhat unnerving." Danzo stated expecting the man to state the answers he'd been waiting for.

"That's an indication of the Kaguya clans bone manipulation kekkei genki beginning to manifest. It's rare even amoung our clan, the crystal style is rare also but more common." Nubutaka provided Danzo a short answer.

"So what are your thoughts on this?" Nubutaka asked after Danzo stayed silent for a moment. "Both the crystal style and the bone manipulation are powerful and useful kekkei genki. The bone manipulation providing excellent attack and defense the crystal style being much the same, but I have yet to find a reason they still struggle with elemental ninjustu which your clan seems to excel with."

"Remember their hairs white like mine, you can't just teach them any elemental justu and expect them to master it. You've gotta figure out which element calls to them the most."

"Chakra paper was ineffective." Danzo said recalling how the papers did nothing when the girls channelled chakra into them.

"Our elemental affinities are dormant till we awaken our primary bloodline, I'll be back to begin training them in the use of their kekkei genki and their new bloodlines in three days time. I'll be training them in a field with others." Nubutaka added the last part making sure their guardian was okay with it.

Danzo simply nodded his head and went back to his NEE reports.

 **Fugaku's POV later that night**

"So Hizishio what time did you and the Monogahi agree on for Hatsue's training?" One Uchiha man in the room asked.

"Nine am sharp just outside the compond. I've informed him of her lack of ninja training and he said it wouldn't be a problem."

"If your granddaughter can win the heart of the Monogahi clan head our ties to the clan will be further strengthened. Eventually our clans will reach the point of comingling and thanks to their bloodline the Uchiha will be stronger than ever." A random Uchiha spoke.

"What about the younger Monogahi boy? His appetite as well as his aptitude for fire style justu exceeds even our own, we've already added three of his fire style justu to the Uchiha vault not to mention his age and shinobi mindset, he is more open and moldable." An elder interrupted earning a few grunts or nodes of acknowledgement from the room.

"The older Monogahi uses magnet and yin style, we cannot make use of that till he actually has offspring and even then it would still be a slow process. The Monogahi boy is six and like our prodigies already posses the skill of a chunin." Another elder spoke up adding to the point he agreed on.

"Surely securing the clan heads legacy would make us even closer to the Monogahi than we already are and ensure close relations for generations to come."

"Well of course you would think it a good idea Hizishio you're granddaughters the one who he'd likely be courting!" The first elder raised his voice getting more adamant about the subject.

"If you read the clan heads file and the ninja guides recently updated file on the man you'd see his skill is possibly on the level of a kage's stated by the third as well as the majority of the clan heads who witnessed him do battle." Hizishio answered back unfazed.

"The Monogahi clan head has shown himself to be aware and unloving of the way Konoha's council likes to ostracize and isolate our clan. Even going as far as to have his compond built on the outskirts of the village to share in our council imposed isolation, I wouldn't rule him out as potentially being the soundest external benefit for the Uchiha. If we gain the clan heads loyalty surely that of the others will follow who knows...it might even be possible they would be willing to help us with that."

"Gaizu how dare you use this meeting about the Monogahi to bring up such a matter again!" Hizishio raged at the man who though taking his side brought up a forbidden topic the clan seemed to have problems avoiding lately.

"He's right Gaizu rumors of the Uchiha being behind the nine tails incident have died and the villagers no longer seem to look at us any different from the other noble clans." Fugaku interjected after a short while of listening to the rooms opinion.

"With all do respect Fugaku sama we all know that's because Nubutaka Monogahi who a year ago was known to the inhabitants of the leaf village as an outsider...was so adamant about it meanwhile our own grievances were paid no attention." The man said sounding upset, voices around the room agreeing with him.

"Just now four years later word of your achievements during the third great ninja war are just becoming known among the majority of the village because the council purposely withheld them from the public and the Hokage allowed it!" A random Uchiha shouted.

"We can not continue to settle for the leaf village reaping the benefits of our clans loyalty meanwhile hiding all our accomplishments and contributions to the village. Hiding the good we do from the public just to make sure we don't rise in status." An elder who'd been silent before added.

"If Konoha's council really fears us having influence that much why not show them that all the Uchiha ever needed in the first place was power. One which the leaf village seriously doesn't value and underestimates!"

"Enough, there will be no more talk of rebellion! The Uchiha are a clan who's loyalty lies with Konoha you will not have me as your clan head while plotting to harm the people of this village most of us are sworn to protect." Fugaku cut off the mens treasonous talk hoping this to be the end of it.

 **Amaris's/Kakashi POV**

The girl arrived outside the Hokages office entering the room her heart taking a moment to flutter when she saw a masked anbu standing in front of the Hokage and instantly recognized the boy she knew was meant to be hers.

"Mask kun! Oh how I've missed you, no wonder I haven't seen you around the village anbu duties must keep you busy!" The girl said as she tackled Kakashi and started hugging him on the floor.

"Wha- How did you recognize me with my mask on?" Kakashi asked in a daze.

"That was easy, your hair of course and the way you turned to look at me." Amaris smiled, Kakashi now unnerved hoping this wouldn't interfere with the mission.

She turned to the Hokage bowing respectfully. "You requested me Hokage sama."

"Yes we've had a bit of an incident between the leaf village and Kumo. Lord Hiashi Hyuga successfully thwarted an attempt to kidnap his oldest daughter but the offending ninja who was killed by Hiashi turned out to be a visiting dignitary from the land of lightning and now Kumo is shouting foul play." Hiruzen said looking mildly irritated and tired at what he was saying.

"Now they're demanding Hiashi to be taken to their village and executed as compensation of course but we of the leaf aren't foolish, we know if we delivered any living Hyuga into the hands of Kumo they'd likely be made into involuntarily breeding machines."

"Of course Kumo threatens war if we don't agree to meet their demands however after discussing this with the village and the shinobi council we've come to an agreement that Konaha will not be bullied into giving up one of it's own or one of it's strongest bloodlines if we don't necessarily have to. The negotiations with the Riakage are to take place three months from now. In that time I'd like you two to track down my remaining loyal students and use whatever means possible to get them back to the village, alive of course."

"We have items belonging to both of them so your dogs will have scents to go off Kakashi, judging from the file I have on you Amaris you maybe even be able to smack some sense into them if need be. I'm sending two more ninja with you, Yukushia Monogahi and Enuken Aburame. They are also excellent tracker and sensory ninja." Hiruzen finished handing them two scrolls, one addressed from him to Tsunade and one of the same for Jiriya.

"Kakashi you will be team leader for this mission, if by any circumstance something may happen to you Amaris will serve in your stead. Remember this is a confidential A ranked mission. You'll be meeting your comrades at the north gate at 8am tomorrow, Enu has info on their last know locations, pack accordingly." Yes Hokage sama they both spoke bowing at the same time and flickering out of the office.

 **I really love fight scenes they'll probably be one in nearly every chapter no more new OCs from this point till later maybe. Hatsue Inoha and Imari all have purposes for the story besides flashy battles, like Nubutaka, Hamura, and Amaris they have specific roles I'm constantly putting thought into. As I bring in more canon characters they'll be more POVs and longer chapters. Read and be sure to review if you have any questions comments or suggestions for me. I really want to get Naruto into the story but I don't want to rush it and he's only about 3 years old right now if my math is correct so I'll wait till the story progresses and it's a good time to bring him in. Thanks for reading**


	4. Chapter 4

**Honestly when I first started thinking about the future of the story I thought I might have been making my OC'S too powerful but I have two reasons for that, one being even though they've been removed from the world for many years now they're still a clan that existed within the warring states era where power was the rule of the land and children were expected to die in battle just as much as anyone else, the Monogahi are the only protection for their village so to me it kinda makes sense for them to be powerful, also the way most chunin and jonin in canon are just fodder really always annoyed me. Even genin should be capable of more than most were in the anime so in this fanfiction everyone from genin to elite jonin will be amped to the level I feel it'd make most sense for them to be on. Itachi and Shisue being low chunin level is probably how it really was at this point in the real story, my OC'S may seem overpowered for now but as I build the world around them and you begin seeing canon characters progress and come into the story they won't seem so OP anymore but the entire fanfic maybe seem OP compared to the canon Naruto verse lol hopefully you'll find it enjoyable though.**

 **Hatsue's POV**

The day after Nubutaka was standing outside the compond just like her grandfather said they'd agreed on and Hatsue felt her heart start doing leaps. "I'm really going to start learning the wiring arts today!" She thought with barely contained joy.

"Hello." Hatsue greeted shyly playing with the hem of her sleeve in an attempt to calm her nerves.

"Glad you could make it. Today I'll be training you and five others, but for now I'll be training most of you separately. I sent shadow clones to pick up the rest of my new trainies and I'll be switching places with one when your training starts since the others will be undergoing combat training. If you're all set we can begin making our way towards the training field." Nubutaka said looking at her curiously.

"Of course." She smiled remembering her grandfather's words and trying not to pay them to much mind, this was about learning the wiring arts not seducing a man she hardly knew.

Around twenty minutes later Hatsue and a clone of her new teacher stood at one of the leafs many training grounds discussing all the ways in which she figured out how to use the ninja wire she still had wrapped from her wrist to her forearm.

"Very good. If you don't mind me asking, what's your motivation for learning the wiring arts?" Nubutaka asked staring at her curiously.

"My mother was an anbu who saved my dad when he was pinned down and separated from his squad on a mission. Dad would always talk about mom and her wiring techniques with so much admiration in his voice, before I knew it it was something I wanted to learn. Both of them referring to it as the most beautiful of all ninja art. I've always been entranced with the art but since my mother is no longer a shinobi and refuses to teach me I've never had a way of satting that hunger."

"Makes sense...how come you've never sought shinobi training before, it'd probably make finding a willing teacher easier." Nubutaka asked politely.

"I'm only half Uchiha which most of the clan see's as a liability. My grandfather forbade it for fear of me one day meeting an end on a mission or worse. My mother and father respect his word so they agreed I would not become a shinobi and no one wants to train someone who's never even been to the academy." Hatsue felt her mood dampen a little till Nubutaka placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Well first we'll teach you how to throw shurekien and kunai, once you've got a solid grasp on them we'll move on to quickly preparing and utilizing ninja wire." Nubutaka smiled at her gently. "R-right!" Hatsue grinned ready to learn.

Elsewhere in the training field Shisue Itachi and Hamura were getting their asses handed to them by Nubutaka in a sparing match.

 **Hamura's POV**

"Why does he seem so much more powerful than last time?" A panting Shisue asked standing between Hamura and Itachi.

"It's not just that he's using the magnet style to it's fullest now along with his yin style." Hamura replied trying to think of a strategy that might possibly work against his brother.

 **Nubutaka clone POV**

"Now since this training is all about the mind we could have done it inside but the reason I say outside is because Imari you posses the bone manipulation bloodline and Inoha you posses the crystal style kekkei genki I think the best way to open your first two points would be having you two focus on them in battle, I'll give you both a brief description of them and as you two fight me focus on them as you feel the need arise."

"Right!" The twins yelled excited knowing they had something rare even among their clan.

 **Two months later: Hamura's POV**

Hamura walked around aimlessly hoping the Uchiha clan meeting both his friends were forced to attend would be over soon.

He was wandering around the village looking for anything that'd distract him from the lack of anything fun in his life besides training, developing new justu, and being around his clan mates.

Most of his clan mates were away on missions or seeing to the training of the younger Monogahi. Hamura would help with that occasionally but mostly he stuck to training with Shisue Itachi and Nubutaka who upon the Uchiha's request held weekly spars with the boys as a way to help develop their combat abilities faster.

Besides Shisue Itachi and a few other young Uchiha, Hamura didn't have any friends in the village so when he wasn't training he just walked around taking in the sights he still wasn't fully familiar with.

Walking through one of Konaha's poorest residential districts, a place he hadn't been before Hamura began feeling bad for the people he saw laying about or walking the streets, most of whom between feeding themselves and their families would never be able to move out of the poverty stricken slums.

" _This is messed up people shouldn't have to live like this_." He thought watching as a group of small children tried to rob an old man who appeared to be homeless.

"Stop! Leave that man alone, he's done nothing to you!" The Monogahi shouted as he came to stand behind the children he could now see had sunken stomachs as if they hadn't eaten in a while or just didn't eat much period.

"Mind your own business baka! It doesn't matter what anyone did, you'd do this too if u didn't eat anything in three days!" The tallest kid in the group, a boy with dirty beige hair and brown eyes spoke shocking Hamura with his statement and the desperation in his voice as he said it.

"That doesn't mean it's right to rob other people of their own food money!" Hamura yelled back feeling more sorry for the people in these slums than before but unwilling to let these kids no older than him steal from other poor people.

"What do you know about being hungry look at you! I'm pretty sure back on the pretty side of konoha they consider you some kind of noble or your parents are loaded! You probably only came here sight seeing. We're here because we can't eat or live anywhere else!" The boy spat turning slightly away from the old man who seemed to be stunned by the fact someone was speaking up for him.

"Jusino, he look like he might has money." A small girl with white blonde hair no older than five said from behind the boy hardly being able to form the words she spoke but knowing a good meal ticket when she saw it.

Jusino looked between Hamura and the old man for a second weighing his options.

"Fork over all your money and we might just let u keep those fancy clothes of yours." Jusino said scowling at Hamura and slowly moving closer as his gang followed him surrounding Hamura who sighed and formed a single hand sign.

"Shadow clone justu." Half of the entire street filled with smoke as realization of attempting to rob a ninja dawned on the group who panicked and tried to get away quickly running through the smoke.

When it cleared Jusino stood at his same spot in the middle surrounded by a dozen clones some of which had kunai pressing against the necks of his associates.

"Okay okay! I'm sorry we tried to rob you just please let my friends go and we'll be on our way, this is the only family we have!" Jusino said referring to himself and the girl who was trying even harder to hide behind his leg now.

"Look dude, I'm really sorry you guys have to live like this. I really wish there was something more I could do to help you." Hamura said signaling for his clones to let the children go and tossing his wallet to Jusino when they dispersed.

"Do me a favor please, and make sure you guys feed him too." Hamura pointed to the old man who still seemed stunned.

"My name is Hamura Monogahi one day I'll try to help everyone in this part of the village but until then if you guys ever find yourselves hungry again head towards the Monogahi clan compond and tell them Hamura sent you, they'll make sure your needs are taken care of."

With that Hamura flickered to a low roof top nearby smiling when he saw Jusino apologizing to the old man and ask him were he would like to eat. Slightly satisfied with himself but sad all the same he couldn't do anything for the people in these slums he turned to make his way home stopping and rushing in the opposite direction when he heard a screem.

 **Kakashi POV**

It'd been two months since they'd left the village and Kakashi was pleasantly surprised to find Amaris seemed to have completely forgotten her infatuation with him and focused solely on the mission.

They'd been tracking Jiriya of the sannin for two weeks now since picking up his trail which lead them to a small civilian village known for it's hot springs.

Kakashi entered the room his ninken told him Jiriya was in and spotted the white haired toad sage relaxing in the water his head laid back against the rocks with his eyes closed.

"Jiriya sama?" Kakashi inquired standing on an opposite end of the spring wrapped in his towl.

"Indeed it is I...the great toad sage of Mount moboku, conquerer of the unknown, defender of the just and slayer of women..." The sannin smiled at at the last part causing Kakashi to sweat drop.

"So you here for my autograph kid or what?" Jiriya asked still not opening his eyes.

"Uhhm actually no sir, I'm head of the tracker squad lord third appointed with delivering this message to you." Kakashi tossed the scroll to the sannin who opened his eyes to catch it at the last second.

His eyes now open and his face serious Jiriya read over the scroll before sighing heavily and closing it.

"Guess it can't be helped then, I'll return with you to the village." Jiriya stood up out of the water and Kakashi averted his eye glad his sharingan hadn't seen that.

"Geez ever heard of modesty old man." Kakashi said mad at not even receiving a warning first.

"Pffft you wish, modesty is for losers. If you've got it might as well be proud of it am I right." Jiriya smirked loving to piss people off that way.

"Flashing people indiscriminately is nothing to be proud of." Kakashi said frowning, walking in the other room to put his clothes back on.

 **Nubutaka's POV**

Nubutaka ducked low avoiding a few shurekien that flew behind him hitting a tree.

"Crystal release deadly spikes justu." Inoha said going through hands signs already at the speed of a genin.

Nubutaka leapt high in the air avoiding the large spikes rising from the ground. He quickly twisted in the air his kunai clashing with a sword of bone Imari held in her right hand. She quickly twisted swinging with the blade in her left, Nubutaka parried her strike with the same kunai and was caught by surprise when in an incredible display of acrobatics and speed she flipped in the air and kicked him sending him speeding towards the ground.

"Crystal release: Javelin grave!" Inoha slammed her hands into the ground creating a large field of long crystal spikes which in a way all resembled Javelins, Hatsue in the same motion hurled a number of shurekien at the falling clan head who began forming one handed seals as he used his kunai to block most of the shurekien.

 _"Yin style: Shadow shroud teleportation."_

Nubutaka disappeared in a swirl of darkness reappearing behind Inoha who reacted quickly twisting her hand in the ground causing spikes to shoot from the crystals javelins surrounding them.

"Earth style: Solid dome justu!" Nubutaka shouted forming no seals as a thick dome of earth rose around him stopping the crystal spikes.

"Kaguya style:Bone grave!" Imari yelled as she fell from the sky and landed on top of the dome slamming both her palms down causing many bones to erupt from the large rock. Before she had a chance to remove her hand Nubutaka rose from her shadow but was quickly forced to flicker away as he caught the faint glimmer of ninja wire maneuvering in the wind.

As soon as Nubutaka reappeared he threw five shurekien with impeccable precision cutting the wires Hatsue had attached to the kunai still embedded in the tree. He did a quick analysis of the area seeing Imari to his left Inoha to his right and no sight of the surprisingly stealthly Hatsue.

"Hhaaaa!" Both girls shouted charging the man they called cousin. Nubutaka prepared himself pulling out another kunai, he noticed too late the small shadows on the ground getting bigger and found he had no room to get out of the immediate area where the rain of kunai would land as Imari and Inoha charged him from the only clear openings.

Smiling at Hatsue's effortless coordination with the girls who'd been training two years before she ever picked up a kunai, Nubutaka blocked Imari's bone blade his shadow rising to block Inoha's crystal dagger. The falling kunai all landed in the ground around them in a pattern Nubutaka didn't recognize.

Two tangles of simmering ninja wire came into view, one tangle horizontal and the other vertical, before Nubutaka had time to ponder the purpose of this trap flames started to quickly race down every single wire creating an inescapable prison of flaming wires that surrounded them and seemed to be casually closing in.

Nubutaka saw Inoha and Imari quickly forming different hand signs. Before he could think of his next move his feet and arms were locked in place by crystal arms which had risen from the ground.

Inoha looked at him hesitantly as if unsure but shook her head and started forming another set of seals as Imari kept at hers slower as to build more focus.

"Yang style: Sanctuary of light!" Inoha finishing with gusto, the Justu erasing all minor traces of shadow within the constantly shrinking ball of heat metal and fire that hardly contained any shadows to begin with, also looking like it took it's tole on Inoha who quickly stumbled over to her sister who just finished her chain of seals Nubutaka had recently taught her upon the girls awakening their secondary affinities.

"Yin style: Walker of darkness!" Imari shouted for extra help focusing to assure she'd get it right.

Much to Nubutaka's pleasure her and Inoha began sinking into her shadow which Inoha had somehow excluded from her justu.

"Good luck Nubu sama, see you sooon cousin Buta!" Imari and Inoha shouted over the roaring flames disappearing into Imari's shadow as Nubutaka smiled and took in the results of Imari and Inoha's teamwork with Hatsue.

Nubutaka knew earth style was out of the question for escape without the use of his hands as was the shadow walker technique without any shadows to manipulate and sink into.

He felt great pride budding in his chest the twins under his tutelage had already grown skilled in the use of their kekkei genki as well as proficient in the use of their yin and yang style. Hatsue was proving to have a gifted mind for strategy and natural capacity for combat and stealth.

He'd expected her grandfather as well as her parents to be absolutely shocked with the progress report on her growth over the month he gave them and indeed they were shocked each month he reported on her progress and natural shinobi skill.

With their permission he was attempting to pull a few strings and have her skip the academy and just be placed on a team with Inoha and Imari when they graduated in a few years. His biggest standpoint with the Hokage on this was they'd already be training together for the next couple of years anyway, they already showed impeccable teamwork and they all seemed to adore each other.

Hiruzen said that he would first need to discuss it with the council as it went directly against normal protocol.

Nubutaka smirked thinking of the council. _"I wonder if Danzo is proud of his daughters, or does he expect more?"_

Feeling the heat actually starting to singe his skin Nubutaka left his thoughts and took one last mental picture of the master piece of teamwork the girls didn't know the Hokage and the councils were observing right now through a crystal ball.

He smiled knowing the girls had made him resort to his last safety option which they didn't know about but still trusted him enough to escape. _"Lightning style flash teleportation!"_

 **Outside the flaming death ball**

"Are you sure he'll be able to escape that? I mean...we did kinda devise this plan as a way to defeat him. In the shinobi world defeat also means kill right?" Hatsue asked fearfully staring at the ball of flames she held control over with eight fire resistant ninja wire she held in her hands.

"I doubt we killed him, Buta sama is stronger than Yoshikawa sama." Imari said sounding sure of herself.

"But why hasn't he come out yet?" Asked a slightly distressed Inoha.

"He's probably admiring our team work and Hatsue's fire prison. You know cousin Buta he's weird like that." Imari said placing a hand on her sisters shoulder.

"I'm not that weird." Nubutaka said from behind causing both girls to whirl around moving to give the man a hug but found they'd been beaten to it by the shy Uchiha girl.

"Are you okay Nubutaka!? We didn't go too far did we?" She asked checking him over for injuries blushing when she finished and found he was staring at her curiously.

She took an involuntary step back nervous under his gaze only to develop a furious blush when he stepped forward and pulled her in returning the hug she'd given.

"I'm fine thanks for worrying, and no way you went too far. The three of you were incredible your teamwork was amazing felt like I was up against a solid team of chunin with jonin level tactics. You guys have no idea how proud you made me." Nubutaka said letting Hatsue out of his brief embrace and bear hugging his little cousins who complain about lacking oxygen.

Hatsue stood to the side giggling till she felt a tug on the ninja wires that'd been wrapped around her arm since the day she'd meant Nubutaka.

"Don't think we forgot you." Nubutaka said his hand extended towards her wrist as the twins stood smiling mischievously at her. Without warning she was pulled to the ground and found herself being mercilessly tickled by the twins who's distress she was just chuckling at seconds ago.

"Nn-noo st-stop, hahahaha h-how did you, pfftt, bhwahaha, find m-my one weakness!" Hatsue said between laughs finding enough strength to launch a counter attack against the Monogahi girls at the end of her sentence.

 **Hamura's POV**

Hamura landed on a roof top right above where he heard the screams wondering who it was behind them and why, in the small alleyway below he saw four men surrounding something small.

One of the men appeared to be in his late fifties with a pudgy face and a snide smirk that bespoke an arrogance only nobles and big shots possessed.

"See you don't seem to understand kid. You're mother was our property so by default you also happen to fall under that category. You can run around the slums of Konaha all you want my men always find you I run these parts of town. Knock the kid out so she won't do any screaming till we get back to the hole." The man sneered at the girl who looked at him defiantly but steadily shook revealing just how scared she actually was.

The two men who were probably just the man's hired muscle closed in on the girl who Hamura noticed had a gleaming metal object in her left hand, he could sense her fear her anger and her killing intent.

Before the men could reach for the girl who was backed against the wall Hamura appeared in front of her in a flicker of flames his usual brown and gold flecked eyes shinning a bright predators yellow.

The old man raised an eyebrow as his body gaurds took an involuntary step away from the boy who just appeared out of fire that appeared out of thin air. "Who are you boy?" The man spat more than he asked looking more than a little upset at being interrupted.

"Who are you and why do you refer to this girl as property?" Hamura asked trying to calm himself as his brother had taught him. Unlike Nubutaka who in a way Hamura tried to emulate in being a controlled confident and calm ninja with the skills to back up the attitude Hamura wasn't so good at always controlling his emotions.

"That's none of your business boy! Stand asi-" The old man's words died in his throat as both of his body gaurds fell unconscious. "Wh-wha!" The old man stammered growing fearful.

"Run." Hamura told the man with narrowed eyes standing behind his fallen body gaurds. The man stood frozen in shock for a few more seconds then proceeded to scurry away hurriedly. Hamura turned and walked back towards the figure on the ground.

"You okay?" He asked offering his hand. The girl looked at him hesitantly then took it using it to help herself up. "They didn't hurt you did they?"

She looked surprised at his question then slowly nodded her head no.

"Why were those men after you?"

"None of your business! Thanks for helping me and all but I don't need some random kid showing up out of nowhere playing detective, go save someone else and ask them questions!" The girl said getting mad out of the blue, her attitude irritating Hamura who honestly wasn't having a good day.

"I was just trying to be nice maybe I should've let them knock you out!"

"You should've I'd have delt with them!"

"What, you'd have caught them off gaurd killed them then what? Is the easy answer to all the problems in Konaha violence!?"

"Hell if I know but the answer to mine damn sure was!!! What now, they'll just come after me again tomorrow, I'm tired of running! I can hardly scrap together food I'm so busy trying to avoid being seen! My own street gangs sell me out to that bastard! I was finally going to kill him today but you just had to ruin it!" The girl stepped forward slapping Hamura hard then falling down clutching her ankle with a pained expression.

To her surprise the boy knelt down beside her and observed her leg seemingly ignoring the fact that she just slapped him.

"What's your name fireball?" Hamura asked sitting next to her and staring at the ground in thought.

"Fireball?" The girl asked tilting her head most of her anger replaced by confusion and frustration for the moment.

"You've got a hot temper so I thought it was appropriate, although I guess I do understand why you're mad."

"I do not have a hot temper I just can't let anyone see me as a weakling or a shy little girl. If I do they'll eat me alive." She said looking down in thought as well and for a moment both her and Hamura sat in silence processing their own thoughts and emotions.

"Anko." The girl spoke after a long silence.

"Huh?" Hamura said confused.

"It's Anko, my name is Anko Mitarashi." The girl said looking up from the ground towards the sky where the the sun was setting in the distance.

"What, like the dango paste?"

 **Nubutaka POV**

After seeing his students home Nubutaka used his walker of shadows technique to rise from a dark corner in the council room where both the shinobi and the civilian council had gathered.

Nubutaka nodded in greetings towards the clan heads whom he'd gotten to know a bit after a year in Konaha. The clan heads all nodded back besides Fugaku who preformed a weird rhythm of taps with his finger indicating to Nubutaka that he'd like to talk later.

Nubutaka's eyes flashed a brighter golden than usual for a moment when he looked in Fugaku's direction as the clan head nodded imperceptibly and stilled his finger.

The clan head walked to the center of the room and stood waiting for someone to give their opinion on his students.

"It seems you were right about their teamwork and their bonds with one another already. Admittedly I didn't expect two five year olds and an Uchiha who only started training to be a shinobi two months ago to show such skill. Part of the civilian council moves that all of them be allowed to skip the academy and be made special chunin seeing as a unit their already at the level of a low chunin unit capable of jonin level tactics, justu and traps." Hiruzen stated.

"However the shinobi council the rest of the civilian council as well as my advisors and myself think it best that Inoha and Imari finish their training at the academy while you catch Hatsue up on what they're learning during the day." He continued and Nubutaka nodded in agreement with this.

"We have also come to the unanimous decision to allow Hatsue to be placed on a team with those two and even become a full fledged shinobi if she agrees to take part in the graduation exams of her future team mates." Nubutaka smiled at this and bowed in gratitude to the room.

"Now that the matter you inquired about has been fully addressed the civilian council has something the they wish to address to you." Hiruzen finished looking towards the civilian council as if they'd offended him somehow.

For a moment all of them looked around till a short pudgy man with pale skin and expensive robes stood up and looked challengingly at Nubutaka who folded his arms and stared at the man curiously.

"It has come to the attention of the civilian council that Imari and Inoha Shimura are no longer members of the Monogahi clan but are now members of the Shimura who only have three existing members." The man paused wondering if Nubutaka was following.

"Go on." Nubutaka said waiting for the man's point.

"Well you see, those two now being the only remaining Shimura in the leaf village and possessing rare kekkei genki places them both directly under the CRA on the day that they reach chunin and are at least fourteen years of age, a matter lord Danzo when asked assured us you would not let come to pass."

"What's this CRA?" Nubutaka asked curious as to why Danzo said he'd be against it.

"The clan repopulation act is a clause written by the second Hokage that states: any clan who has bearers of a specific bloodline or kekkei genki who's number drops below ten members must partake of the CRA. Which is when said persons bearing said bloodline ability or kekkei genki must only take low risk missions and produce offspring as a way of assuring the village doesn't lose an asset. The potential mates of the individuals under the CRA will be selected from either the village nobles or the village shinobi and voted upon by both councils who must be in agreement upon them." The man finished looking smugly at Nubutaka who's facial expression hadn't changed the entire time he listened to the man.

The room was completely silent as everyone waited to see how the man would react to the man stating under law his cousins were to be made into breeding machines as to assure the village didn't lose their bloodlines now that they were their own clan.

"Danzo...what do you think of this?" Nubutaka asked still staring at the pale man who began to shrink under his increasingly cold gaze.

"I am indifferent to this suggestion. While it may be a prudent move to raise Konaha's number of rare kekkei genki users we already have tones of shinobi of the same blood only of a different name and compond." Danzo said plainly probably already expecting the question.

"What of you lord third?" Nubutaka asked looking towards the Hokage who sighed tiredly.

"What I think doesn't matter, what the councilman is suggesting can be considered just as prudent as it can be barbaric and wrong. How this matter is resolved will be between you the councils and Danzo." Sarutobi said not wanting to get involved.

"There is no issue to resolve or thoughts to be taken into consideration! This clause was written by Lord Tobirama himself you will n-" The man found himself cut off as his own shadow rose from the floor binding his arms mouth and legs.

"You will not dictate to me what decisions regarding MY family I'm allowed to have an opinion on. Last time I checked the civilian council were only allowed influence over matters pertaining to 'civilians' not our shinobi clans and the laws pertaining to them. The Hokage allows you to weigh in on these matters as a privilege...you aren't entitled to it nor do your opinions have any sway." Nubutaka said looking at the man but speaking to the entire civilian council who always seemed to take an unhealthy interest in all matters pertaining to shinobi that could further their own positions within the village.

No one spoke for a while as Nubutaka's comment sunk in around the room and the shinobi council smirked at the outraged and fearful expression that varied amoung the civilian council members.

"Release him." Hiruzen commanded pleased as the man's shadow let go of him receding back to it's regular form, as the man fell on the floor gasping and squirming to his feet.

"Lord Hokage I demand that this man be arrested under charges of assault against a council member and-"

"No." Hiruzen cut in sharply silencing the man.

"He is right in all that he's said and he could've easily hurt you but he didn't, you should be grateful." The Third Hokage said as he puffed on his smoke pipe.

"While I do think it a good idea to keep your side of the council informed on shinobi matters as to ensure you aren't unaware of the military state of the village, it is a privilege you are allowed not entitled to and as such you can only give your opinions. As the shinobi council is also allowed to take part and give their opinions in civilian council matters, all of whom besides Hiashi usually choose not to partake of this privilege."

"Besides, the CRA was never an enforced policy anyway more of a recommendation. Which the civilian council has no real say in anyway." Hiruzen finished taking another puff.

The man deflated and sat back down knowing he was beaten.

"Where do the members of the shinobi council besides me stand on this matter?" Nubutaka asked looking around the room.

"Like this was something that could've been saved till they were chunin. Just like the civilian council to waste valuable shinobi time." Tsumi commented getting a few bad looks from said council.

Hiruzen looked around the room seeing if she spoke for everyone.

"Well if most of the shinobi council is in agreement on this matter this can wait until it's appropriate time. We'll move on to the last matter of business for today." Hiruzen said motioning to the civilian council.

"Due to the excellent progress and close relationship you have with your apprentices-"

"Hatsue is my only apprentice the others I just spare with and teach through experience." Nubutaka said cutting the man off.

"About that lord Nubutaka." A civilian council women with pink hair interjected respectfully.

"Lord Danzo along with Fugaku Uchiha and the rest of the council have recommended you for head academy instructor. It would be a great honor if you'd accept the job." She said as many other council members nodded in agreement.

"What, why me?" Nubutaka asked confused.

"The academy instructors tend to be too soft on the kids. When observing the progress your current students are making in developing both their shinobi skills as well as their teamwork, the decision to ask this of you was unanimous." Danzo said referring to Shisue, Hamura and Itachi as well as Hatsue and his adopted daughters.

"Shisue Itachi and my little brother are all considered prodigies, they were brilliant as a unit before I started their daily sparing sessions and the girls are just gifted plan and simple." Nubutaka said unwilling to take credit for his naturally talented students.

"That may be so but both Danzo and Fugaku have said to see improvement in their children since you've started training them. If you're able to successfully teach prodigies even the academy can't there's no doubt you'd make a great instructor." Hiruzen said stating a point.

"You'd be more of a supervisor for the academy teachers as well as the one who gets to choose the subjects of study and the pace at which they're set. Of course any changes made in the academy's curriculum will have to be considered by the council and approved by the Hokage but mostly you'd just be directing the school rather than teaching the kids themselves." Shikaku offered hoping to help the man's decision.

"As long as it doesn't interfere with the kids I'm already training I suppose it won't be too much of a problem." Nubutaka said hoping this wouldn't be a boring thing involving more paperwork.

Most of both councils smiled glad the man who appeared to be a brilliant shinobi trainer agreed to train their next generation of shinobi.

 **Kakashi's POV**

Kakashi, Jiriya, Amaris, and Enken Aburame stood in an open field watching curiously as Yukushia seemingly had a conversation with a bunch of flowers. After a couple of minutes she thanked the plants and walked back towards her group.

"Apparently a woman with Senju chakra passed through here not too long ago and headed east." Yukushia said standing in front of the group.

Everyone save one person nodded and turned ready to head east when they all noticed the newest member of their party standing still for some reason.

Jiriya looked back and forth between everyone as if they'd all sprung a third head or something wondering if they were crazy or if he was.

"Let me get this straight. This girl can talk to plants?" The toad sage asked tilting his head slightly.

"Yes." Yukushia answered for herself.

The Sannin however crossed his arms and tilted his head further. "Do you know how crazy that sounds?"

"I don't exactly talk to them, I communicate with them using chakra. I talk to them physically to say thanks because the carbon monoxide will help them grow." Yukushia said, this not being the first time someone was skeptical about her ability to speak with nature.

"I don't buy it." Jiriya said disbelievingly.

"We were able to find your sent trail a few towns over because an old Oak tree told me you'd been hiding inside some bushes outside of a woman's bath house, where according to Kakashi's ninken your scent laid heavily on the ground mixed with that of sweat and se-"

"Okay okay okay!!! I believe you we can get moving now!" Jiriya shouted as he rushed pass the group and started quickly heading east.

 **Hamura's POV**

"This is where you live?!?!" A surprised Anko yelled in her shock not expecting to see something this big when Hamura insisted she accompany him to his home so he could treat her leg.

"Yup, this is the Monogahi clan compond. Come on, we keep the medical supplies outside the training room." Hamura started walking but stopped when he noticed Anko looking at him with suspicion.

"What?" Hamura asked giving her look of suspicion a look of disbelief.

 _"This girls crazy."_

"I'm not going any further inside, bring the bandages here." Her request sounded oddly like a command to Hamura who spared the girl his most tired look, going so far as to hunch his head and lower his shoulders.

"Don't pretend it's such a hassle, you live here don't you." Anko said frowning.

Hamura sighed knowing there'd be no convincing the stubborn girl.

"Fine, just wait for me here I guess." He said turning and walking towards the training area.

 **Anko's POV**

Hamura had been gone for about five minutes now and Anko was getting more uncomfortable by the second.

" _I don't belong here in this fancy compond or even in this part of Konaha for that matter, I'm just a street rat."_ She told herself looking in the direction Hamura went.

She quickly made up her mind and turned towards the componds entrance. As soon she neared the big set of double doors one of them opened, but thanks to her injured ankle she couldn't react in time and it ended up hitting her and knocking her to the ground.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry are you okay???" A female voice asked with worry.

Anko looked up and saw a fair skinned women with onyx black eyes that held a strong light and long dark hair that went all the way to her lower back. Beside the women was two young girls probably somewhere around Anko's age but a year or two younger also having dark onxy shaded eyes but oddly a tinge of violet inside of them and crazily enough stark white hair which Anko had never seen before, they appeared to be twins.

 **Authors notes**

 **The pace won't be set this slow for long eventually they'll be a few time skips but I gotta develop the story a bit more first you guys might be hungry for a real plot by now since so far it's just been random character introductions and interactions along with the occasional fight scene but trust me the plots coming. As for Anko I don't know her past or exactly how she became a ninja but what we'll go with right here is if Hamura had never shown up she'd have killed the muscle heads and later ended up being placed in the academy since she had the capacity to kill two fully grown men at eight years old.**

 **Hope you guys like the story so far it hasn't gotten truly interesting yet but we'll get their eventually.**

 **Unknown: Thanks for the review :) sorry if the Amaris and Kakashi's meeting was exasperated but I thought a love at first sight thing would be kind of cute don't worry their romance won't be rushed. **

**Maya: They seem OP no doubt but once you see how the canon characters will be brought out of their shells it'll probably make more sense. I feel like a lot of the fight scenes in Naruto were done lazily so a lot of charecters appeared to be weaker than what they really were or most charecters were just weaker than they really should've been. I think the only truly OP character I've showed so far is Nubutaka**.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry about two errors I noticed in the last chapter. The time skip was two months not one I'll go back and correct that later, It also mentions Hatsue once and calls her Reyumi which was my first name for her sorry if it confused anyone I hope you'll enjoy this chapter. So far a year and six months have passed since the Monogahi came to Konaha. This chapter will switch from different POVS faster than others I apologize if you end up finding this kind of annoying but it's to help understand different charecters views and thoughts.**

Chapter 5

 _Words of a fool_

 **Anko's POV**

"I'm fine really." Anko told the beautiful woman once more hoping she would just let her be on her way.

"But you can hardly stand, your leg doesn't look okay." The twin with the longer hair commented causing the other two to gaze at the wound she received on her leg when the muscle heads were throwing rocks to ensure the speedy girl wouldn't outrun them again.

Anko wanted to scowl at the girl for pointing that out but didn't want to be rude to these people in their home, especially when they were only showing concern.

"It's okay, really I'm fine." She assured glancing at the door again nervously which didn't go unnoticed by Hatsue.

"Well if you're in a rush to get back to your home I wouldn't want to hold you up, but please let me bandage and clean the wound on your leg, it'd make me feel much better." Hatsue requested giving Anko a warm smile.

"W-well...sure I guess." Anko said turning her head away from Hatsue as she developed a light blush, embarrassed at the kindness she was being shown by a stranger.

Hatsue's smile brightened in response as she took the girls hand and started walking further into the compond.

The twins followed smiling as well, but for what reason Anko couldn't tell. She wondered why they hadn't asked her what she was doing in their compond anyway.

 **Hamura's POV**

The young Monogahi boy came back to the lobby with a med kit in hand, much to his surprise there was no sign of the spunky purple haired fireball he left waiting there.

 _"What in the-? Kami! This girls gonna drive me crazy!"_ Hamura thought pulling lightly at his hair.

"Yo." Nubutaka said coming through the door just as Hamura was preparing to leave out.

"No time bro, talk to you later bye!" Hamura said rushing outside and leaping to the nearest rooftop hoping to find the girl before she got too far away. He cursed his luck for not being a sensory type ninja.

 **Nubutaka's POV**

Surprised by the weird behavior of his little brother Nubutaka considered following him for a short while before shrugging and figuring if it was really important he'd have asked for his help.

 **Kakashi's POV**

"Holly crap! Would you look at all these casino's!" Amaris said looking around wide eyed.

"She's definitely in this town somewhere but there's a lot of scents to distinguish from which will make our job harder. It may be a day or two till we find her." A small pug they'd been using to track Tsunade's scent curtisousy of Kakashi informed.

"I'll have my kikka beetles help us with the search." Enu said commanding his hive to spread out and search for strong chakra's.

"I guess we might as well do our best to blend in with the towns people in the mean time. Wouldn't want to cause a commotion amoung the civilians here by drawing attention to our mission." Kakashi suggested to his team who knew it to be more of a command.

"Well while you guys are doing that I'll take a bit of time to preform a little research while we're here. Be sure to let me know if you guys find Tsunade hime." Jiriya said walking away with a smirk earning a frown from the groups nature style user.

"That man really doubts our competence doesn't he?" Yukushia asked no one in particular.

"Doesn't really matter as long as we complete the mission." Amaris replied before anyone else could, Kakashi and Enu liking her answer.

"Traveling with a pervert doesn't bother you?" Yukushia asked her clansmate curious as to why she seemed so indifferent.

"Not at all, the man's habit of ease dropping on women in the bath house could be said to stem from a fascination with the true beauty and natural eroticism of our gender." Amaris said causing everyone in the group to stare in confusion.

"I'm sorry...what?" Kakashi asked not understanding at all what she meant.

"When a woman and a man are about to engage in sexual relations the woman tends to either put on a seductive front or fall into the role of prey waiting to be dominated by her male counter part who takes the role of predator." She said looking at them to see if they were following slightly surprised to see the Aburame watching with interest.

"Go on." Kakashi said wondering where exactly she could possibly go with this.

Amaris smiled at the silver haired Jonin before she continued.

"In any situation where a woman stands before a man completely nude and aware of his watchful eyes she reacts differently than how she would if it was only her or other women witnessing her nudity. Maybe the man just likes to admire women in a form of pure confidence and uninfluenced, untainted beauty."

"What?" Kakashi asked unsure if he was following or not. He thought he might understand what she was saying but he was really confused as to if she was really saying it or not.

"I'm sorry but I don't fully understand." Yukushia said just as confused as Kakashi. Enu however folded his arms and brought one of his hands to rest under his chin developing a thoughtful expression.

"I guess you could say that a women who is naked in front of a man is never really her true self because she is always aware of his presence and his presence makes her hyper aware of her every move. It will influence her even if she isn't aware of it. Even if they've been lovers for a very long time the way she acts when naked by herself will not be the same as the way she does with him." Amaris continued hoping this to be a good example.

Kakashi developed the same thinking pose as Enu. _"There's probably some truth to what she's saying but I've never seen a woman naked so I really wouldn't know anyway."_ Kakashi thought wondering what the Aburame who stood beside him in the same pose was thinking.

"In a way it's probably not perversion running through the man's head but likely a quest of some kind to understand the truest aspects of beauty in a woman, which would be impossible when she's actively manipulating or drawing on those aspects."

"Wait...what?" Kakashi asked becoming even more confused when she claimed it wasn't perverse thoughts prompting the man to spy on nude women. She smiled at him again chuckling as she probably thought he looked cute when he was confused.

"It's basically how one cannot observe a deer that is aware of your presence and claim to know its ways. The deer will act differently than usually if it is aware of you watching, you could never truly know or understand it in its natural form as long as it is aware of you. Jiriya seeks to discover the mysteries behind the true erotic beauty of women and that's probably the only way he's found to study it at the moment." Amaris finished.

For a moment all was silent as they let what she said sink in and began to really think about it.

"So you're saying when he says he's going to go conduct research by spying on beautiful naked women...he's really conducting research?" Enu asked actually sounding curious.

"That's exactly what I'm saying!" She beamed.

Kakashi stood there stunned as Enu being a proud member of the Aburame clan absorbed her words and found them surprisingly insightful for a woman talking about a man who's favorite activity most would consider downright perverted and shameful.

"Wow." Was all Kakashi could say.

"You don't really believe that do you Marris? I mean captain Hatake's dogs told us clearly he'd been masturbating in the bushes as he watched the women bathe." Yukushia said shocked at the truth of the statement her friend just gave, which she didn't believe for a second applied to the white haired Sannin.

"He is a man after all kushia, at least he doesn't take pictures of them for later or henge into a women so he can get closer." Amaris defended the man, her point of view already weighing in Jiriya's favor. Defending one went hand in hand with defending the other.

"You make good points but honestly I still think it's disgusting." Yukushia said with a visible shiver as she thought of the peeping tom.

"It is but we shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, I'm sure the man's called Sannin for good reason." Amaris replied smiling at Yukushia.

"I'd actually like to see what's so famous about that name one day." Yukushia smirked as Kakashi and Enu still pondered the girl's words and wondered how she was so insightful on such a thing.

 **Hatsue's POV**

"Your hair is pretty." One of the white haired twins said looking at Anko.

"Uhhm...thanks so is yours." Anko said awkwardly in such a way Hatsue could tell she wasn't used to receiving complements.

In fact the way she'd been acting since she arrived with Imari and Inoha was starting to confuse the Uchiha women. The Monogahi servant's weren't shy in the slightest last time she'd joined them for dinner she noticed they were pretty much a part of the big family that was the Monogahi clan and if Anko was the daughter of one of said servants she wouldn't be so shy or nervous at all.

Hatsue worked at bandaging the girls leg hoping she wasn't aiding a thief, trying to push her suspicions of the girl away. In a way she reminded her of herself and how she'd always felt inside the Uchiha compond, small shy and nervous as if she didn't belong.

 _"What am I thinking this girl doesn't even have any valuables on her, her clothes might fit the look of something you'd see a thief in but her personality doesn't say you've caught me red handed it's more like she's not used to interacting with people."_ Hatsue thought feeling guilty at her former assumption.

It didn't take more than three minutes for Hatsue to clean and dress the cut on the girls leg the twins had took this small amount of time to ask her questions which the girl who told them her name was Anko seemed to be getting upset at.

Hatsue wondered why she neglected to answer any of their questions till they asked about her parents and she informed them with a cold look that her parents died a long time ago.

Inoha being the sensitive child she was began tearing up and rushed to embrace Anko apologizing fervently while Imari being the practical thinker she was began putting two and two together just as Hatsue had and realized the girl was an orphan. Which was why she neglected to answer questions like which civilian school she went to, where did she live, and what was her family like.

Hatsue could tell Imari felt really bad when she saw the strong young konochi in training developed her own tear trails same as her little twin sister.

"We're sorry." Imari said walking over beside her sister and hugging the now shocked Anko who probably hadn't expected the duo to cry for her.

"No...it's okay, you didn't kill them, you shouldn't cry for my lose." Anko said patting the sobbing Inoha on the back hoping the pretty dark haired women who just patched her up would get the crying twins off her.

"Imari and Inoha also lost both their parents a couple years ago." Hatsue said informing her of why the girls were so emotional.

"Oh..." Anko said glancing at the girls who were clinging to her with something new in her gaze Hatsue recognized to be understanding.

"Really it's okay... I'm fine." She said hoping they'd stop crying and release her, which they did when Hatsue placed a hand on their shoulders.

"Sorry we asked you all those questions without-"

"I said it's fine! Geeeez! Stop crying and apologizing." Anko shouted frowning at the girls who after a moment of surprise started chuckling and whipping their tears.

"Can Anko stay for dinner with us Hatsue Nee chan?" Inoha asked looking hopeful.

"That's really not my decision to make Inoha. You'd have to ask Nubutaka."

"Ask me what?" The man said walking into the medical ward just outside the training room as if just being spoken up.

"Can Anko stay and eat dinner with us Buta sama?!" Imari asked beating anyone else to the punch.

"Sure I don't see why not, the more the merrier. Hope you like good food Anko." Nubutaka said looking at the girl he didn't know who he assumed to be Anko.

"Uhm..Yeah!" Anko said looking excited at being offered food which made Hatsue sad knowing the little orphan girl probably didn't eat much.

"Great!" Nubutaka said looking genuinely pleased. "Dinner starts in thirty minutes. I've gotta go get my little brother before hand, he just scurried off somewhere in a rush. In the mean time if you'd like to clean up or get yourself a change of clothes Imari and Inoha can lead you to the servants quarters and they'll help you with whatever you need."

"See you guys soon." Nubutaka said leaping out of the low window in the med room.

 **Hamura's POV**

"I've searched everywhere from here to where I found her. How could she have made it so far with an injured ankle? Dammit why the hell am I not a sensory ninja?" Hamura said mad at himself and the girl who left before he could clean and patch her wound.

"You know you shouldn't curse at a young age little brother, it'll give you stress lines and age you faster." Nubutaka said rising from the shadow of his little brother.

"How'd you find me?" Hamura asked curious.

"I'm a sensory ninja too remember?"

"Geez what can't you do?" Hamura said sarcastically.

"Apparently cheer up my little bro. What's gotten you so fustrated?" Nubutaka asked sitting down next to Hamura who stood on the roof.

Hamura told his brother about his entire day and the girl he'd left in a hurry after but couldn't find.

"You said her name was Anko?" Nubutaka asked staring at Hamura curiously.

"Yea." Hamura said plainly.

"She's at the compond right now getting ready for dinner with Inoha Imari and Hatsue." Nubutaka smirked knowing how his little brother would react.

"What?!" Hamura shouted feeling fustrated all over again.

 **Hatsue's POV**

Anko sat just outside the training area watching Imari and Inoha having what Hatsue called a mild Taijustu battle.

The twins weren't even taking each other seriously at the moment still managing to impress Anko with their easily apparent skill at hand to hand combat. Hatsue explained that sparing really worked up a large appetite in the girls and as such their father and cousins encouraged spares before meals.

"Where'd they learn to fight like that?" Anko asked Hatsue with great interest.

"Their father Lord Danzo, leader of the Shimura clan taught them formerly before Lord Nubutaka." Hatsue answered looking to Anko.

"So N- Lord... Nubutaka could teach me how to fight like that?" Anko asked causing Hatsue to chuckle at her awkward attempt to be respectful.

"Yes and I'm sure he'd probably be honored to do so. Just be sure to ask when he returns with Hamura for dinner." Hatsue wasn't sure but she thought she saw Anko's face change for a moment at the mention of Hamura.

 **Nubutaka's POV**

"Be nice little brother." Nubutaka said opening the compounds double doors for him and his brother.

"I'm not gonna say anything. As long as her legs patched up that's fine." Hamura replied still sounding fustrated.

"If you say so." Nubutaka said smirking at his little brothers obvious fustration.

When the pair reached the clans feast hall neither were surprised to see the tables packed with Monogahi clansmen and the people who served them smiling and talking of recent events among one another.

Hamura's mood had seemed to pick up as he began speaking among the clan with his brother.

Eventually they made their way over to Hatsue and the girls, who were both eating alongside Anko with a gusto that'd make the chief very proud of his work.

What was really surprising though was how Anko seemed to be keeping up with the girls and if one was to look closer, between the speed eating, the looks of curiousity at each others plates, and the sly smirks they each were sending each others way you'd think they were having an eating contest.

Hatsue sat staring at them in awe, her first plate still remaining untouched as you could see the wonder in her eyes as she watched the small girls easily demolish large portion after large portion.

Hamura began to smirk beside his brother. "If its a contest involving food count me in!" The boy said with a smirk rushing to their table sitting just opposite of Anko fully intent on showing everyone just how in over their heads they became when he entered their competition.

Nubutaka, Hatsue and some other Monogahi clansmen and women started watched in amazment at the kids who were seemingly black holes.

 _15 minutes later_

"I think I ate too much." Imari groaned leaning against Hatsue as if over eating had exhausted her physically.

"I knoow me too, Janku is evil, making such irresistible food!" Inoha groaned leaning on Hatsue from the right causing the Uchiha women to chuckle.

"I blame those two! They just had to go making it into a contest." Imari pointed a finger at the still eating Anko and Hamura who were sitting across from one another having a fierce stare down as they continued wolfing down Janku's delicious food.

Nubutaka laughed at Imari knowing she was probably the one that started it with her competetive nature. Hatsue chuckled at the young girl as well, having actually been there to see how it all started. Nubutaka watched her laugh for a moment and had to check himself. He and his family, particularly his little cousins had all gotten very close to the kind Uchiha women but lately he found his thoughts of her not just being that of a teachers towards one of his students.

Attatchment wasn't something Nubutaka frowned upon at all, but being attracted to his student however was. It was just about as unproffesional as you could get and he felt that what was considered business should never be mixed with pleasure, so he ignored his feelings as was the proper thing to do.

"Uh oh." Inoha's said looking at Hamura and Anko.

Nubutaka turned to see what she meant and almost laughed out loud when he saw Hamura and Anko's hands both hovering in mid air over the last of the chicken egg roles.

 _"If looks could kill I think everyone else in the room would be collateral damage to the death stares those two are sending each other right now."_ Nubutaka thought after he'd seen their faces. He hoped things wouldn't get violent.

"Move your hand, now old man." Anko said with a fierce scowl, her old man comment aimed at the boys name.

"Not a chance miss dango paste." Hamura replied staring her scowl down unwaveringly.

"I could move it for you if you'd like geezer." Anko threatened.

"Hhaaa! I'd like to see you try fireball." Hamura said with a smirk.

Anko smirked back and the two seemed to exchange a few words with eye contact in that moment.

Without warning both their hands rushed forward and locked together over the table as their thumbs began an epic war, battling over the fate of the delicious egg role.

"Thumb war! Thumb war! Thumb war!" Someone started chanting while banging on the table from somewhere inside the hall causing most of the Monogahi in the place to join in, Nubutaka Imari Inoha and Hatsue all joining with smiles on their faces at the anticts of the young competitors with seemingly endless appetites.

Around three minutes later the battle was finally over with Hamura coming out on top. The messhall cheered at the close out of the epic match and for the winner of the egg role. Anko deflated slumping in her chair in obvious dissappointment looking as if she'd just lost all appetite.

"Sorry I had to whoop you fireball but I can't help being awesome sometimes." Hamura said smirking at the girl who looked up with a scowl only to have it be replaced with a look of surprise when she saw his hand extending the plate with the last egg role towards her.

"You can have it. I didn't really want it, just thought it'd be fun to mess with you real quick." Hamura said smirked sheepishly.

Much to the confusion of everyone in the feasthall who was watching, Anko frowned at the boy before she took the egg role in one hand and extended its other end towards Hamura who looked confused.

"I'm not stupid or blind baka. I appreciate the noble gesture but I could tell how much you really wanted that egg role by how hard you battled me for it. Take half... and we'll call it even for you saving me from those thugs." Anko said looking at the boy without any anger or mistrust for the first time since they ment hours ago.

Hamura smiled and reached forward grabbing the other end of the egg role as Anko pulled and twisted making it come apart at the middle.

"You're not so bad fireball." Hamura said before shoving the egg role down his throat.

"Shut up dummy." Anko said smiling before doing the same thing.

 **Jiriya's POV**

"NO WAY?! SHE SAID WHAT!?" Jiriya whispered frantically in his surprise to Kakashi and Enu who'd tracked him to a tree with high branches that allowed him to see into one of the villages public bath houses for women.

"No doubt it sounds crazy, but after taking a few moments to take what she said into consideration me and Enu have decided we'd like to know of this natural beauty and eroticism women posses when unhindered by the presence of men. We don't want to have to peep in on them though, no offense." Kakashi said raising his hands at the last part.

"None taken, everyone can't be scientist after all." The Sannin said smiling broadly. "I gotta say that sure is one intuitive girlfriend you got there kid." Jiriya remarked looking at Kakashi with approval.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Kakashi denied mad at himself for reacting so strongly.

"Well when she thinks no one is paying attention she certainly looks at you like she wants to be." Jiriya said pulling out his binoculars again to gaze lustfully at the new set of double D's that just entered the bath house.

"She's right though look at them down there. So wrapped up in their own existence, so beautifully confident and self assured, the Gods themselves would find a sight such as this inticing. The way their movements are, so calm, so graceful and self assured. Women in this form can be likened to the goddesses of old, possessing a beauty truly worthy of worship." Jiriya finished his voice dripping with reverance, his mouth dripping with a bit of salava.

"So thats why you're obssessed with the female form?" Enu asked curious.

Jiriya sighed and face palmed.

"You kids are too stuck inside of the shinobi mindset. Here, read this and it'll help you understand the beauty in women you don't get to see in your everyday lives." Jiriya tossed them both a book with an orange and red cover with the words Icha Icha paradise on the cover.

Enu flipped his book open skimming along a few pages till his face went red and he slammed it shut. Kakashi being an avide reader opened the book to the first chapter and found the writting to be good so he'd give it a chance, especially if it could teach him a thing or two.

"Thank you master Jiriya." Both ninja said with a bow to show their gratitude to which the Sannin just waved them off.

"Don't thank me now thank me later, now get out of here. I have research to conduct." The man said with a smile, drooling a little as he began looking through the binoculars again.

 **Back in Konoha**

"Suna has sent a letter of thanks for our generous trade agreement they say they honestly didn't expect us to make good on originally." Shikaku reported the the council.

"The wind Daiyamo apparently hearing of the agreement which helped Suna back to it's feet extends his personal thanks and says he'd one day like to visit the land of fire as a tourist, with the permission of the Hokage and the fire Daiyamo of course."

Surprised murmers could be heard among some of the civilian council.

"A Daiyamo from a foreign country actually trusting enough in another nation to travel beyond it's borders for any reason other than negotiations is unheard of. This could be a brand new era of fellowship between the lands of fire and wind." Homura Mitokado one of three members of Konoha's elder council said from his seat between Danzo Shimura and Koharu Utatane his fellow members.

"I wouldn't be so sure...perhaps it's just so that his personal bodyguards who will no doubt be skilled shinobi can gain intel on the best possible way to bypass the defenses around some of our civilian villages and the strengths and weaknesses of our border patrols." Danzo said from his spot to the left of the Hokage.

"Perhaps." Homura said not entirely ruling that out, his time as a shinobi instilling in him the same instinctual mistrust of others, though not as extreme as Danzo's who was known to really only trust the Hokage and even then only to a certain extent.

"Trade relations with Taki and Kusa have increased as well. Both minor villages have been sending an increased number of trade carvans and big time merchants who usually pay for the protection of our shinobi from bandits and rogue nin while their on the road." Koharu added not giving Danzo and Homura the time to go into all the ways the wind Daiyamo could be using this tour request as some kind of cover up for a potential spy mission.

"Oddly enough Taki sends word of wishing to form an alliance." Shikaku said earning another set of surprised murmers from the civilian council.

"Why would a minor village wish to ally themselves with Konoha at this point when we're just barely avoiding a war with Kumo?" Mebuki Haruno a fair skinned women with shoulder length burgundy hair wearing a kimmono with a large white circle being the Haruno crest on the back asked the room.

"That's exactly what I asked myself when the Hokage brought their request to my attention, and that question is something I really have few satisfying answers to." Shikaku replied to the head of village agricultural management.

"Maybe they just think what with the way our economy jumped straight out of the water onto the balcony it'd be beneficial to form an official alliance with us, since our village is a peaceful one after all." Mebuki's husband Kizashi Haruno a man with naturally grey hair who looked like he spent a lot of time in the sun and also bore the Haruno family crest offered from his set next to his wife on the civilian council.

"Or maybe they'd like an easier way to gain insider information on Konaha. All these new alliances being formed in rapid succession can do us no good. The more allies the village has the more potential betrayals and daggers in the back to look out for." Danzo said sounding unfond of the idea as he always sounded when it came to allying with anyone.

"While there is plenty of truth to that statement, I think alliances even temporary if made with good intentions could be very beneficial to the villages growth." Kizashi replied to the elder who looked to the civilian councilmen who held the title of sanitations director with slight annoyance.

"Very beneficial to it's growth or very hazardous to it's continued survival." Danzo replied.

Koharu coughed interupting the debate she saw coming. "While the reasons for Taki's request for an alliance aren't readily apparent or easy for us to make out I also think it'd best to accept their request for an alliance and see where our relations with them head from there." She interjected earning nods from most of the civilian and shinobi councils.

"I second that opinion." Homura said causing Danzo to frown at his fellow elder council members.

"Taki isn't big enough to cause much of a threat to us by themselves anyway. Worst case scenario they've teamed up with Kumo or Iwa, or possibly both and plan to act as the dagger Danzo spoke of earlier." Shikaku said letting it be known where he stood on the matter and what his opinion was.

"I feel we should give them a chance. Taki has always been rather isolated compared to most of the hidden villages besides Kiri of late. Much like how Yoshikawa saw Konaha would be a better village to form an alliance with when pursuing peace Taki probably made the same assumption. Making allies with us would not only see them gain more beneficial trade but would also make the trade routes between our villages safer." Inochi added his opinion from his spot beside Choza and Tsumi on the shinobi side of the room.

"Why not?" Choza said adding his vote.

"They train good war dogs." Tsumi said looking as if she didn't care about the situation, her answer probably serving as her agreeing with her comrades.

"The terms would have to be drawn up first of course, no doubt they hope to gain something from this alliance they suggest, and i'd hope they aren't planning to replicate the shameful actions of Kumo." Hiashi said bitter at Kumo's underhanded attempt to get their hands on his clans Dojustu.

"Taki doesn't have the man power to actually threaten Konaha though, Kumo does." Fugaku cut in.

"If one of the minor villages wants to ally themselves with Konaha why not let them. Show Kumo and Iwa that even the minor shinobi villages respect us more."

"I second Fugaku's opinon." The Aburame clan head added.

"Well then thats enough votes to decide where to proceed on this matter." The hokage said stamping a paper he then put to the side."

"Questions...concerns?" Hiruzen asked knowing his councils to have some.

"About the Kumo affair, what do you plan on telling the Raikage of our decision if your students aren't found in time or cannot be brought back to the village?" Hiashi asked hoping the Third would stand his ground on not being bullied into anything by Kumo.

"Jiriya has already been located and is now traveling with the tracker group in hopes of quickly finding Tsunade. As for what I'll tell the Raikage if Tsunade can't be found or Jiriya doesn't make it in time, I'll tell him exactly what I said before. We will not be bullied into anything by anyone for any reason whatsoever. If their foreign diplomate hadn't been attempting to kidnap the Hyuga hieress he wouldn't have found himself on the killing end of the gentle fist in the first place."

"If Kumo wants war with Konoha because of their own underhanded trickery, sadly I'd feel obligated to give them just that. Maybe at another time I would have sought out a more compromising solution, but as of now Konaha's economy has risen to where it was before the nine tails incident, we have a new hidden ally in the shinobi from Dursula village who I'm sure would lend aid, not to mention Konoha's newest clan who seem to have a natural talent for battle."

"I want Jiriya and Tsunade back in the village before hand to be briefed and to travel with me to the meeting as a threat the Raikage can actually see that may deter him from the most unfavorable course of action. It's about time they stopped running from their responsibilities anyway." Hiruzen replied to the man who nodded his agreement liking the Hokages train of thought.

"What of the nine tails boy?" Danzo asked Hiruzen.

"What of him?" Sarutobi asked feinging ignorance.

"You know exactly where I'm going with this Hiruzen. It's clear in your eyes." Danzo said pointing an acusitory finger at the Hokage who didn't brother denying his truthful claim.

"If a war with Kumo is on the horizon the village would benefit now more than ever from a jinchiruki trained to use his bjiuu. Allow me custody of the boy and I will make him into the most powerful weapon this village has ever seen." Danzo said with a fire behind his words.

"This is the fourth Hokages son we're talking about." Hiruzen stated the fact like it changed everything.

"The fourth Hokages son who everyone hates and treats like a monster. If you allow him to grow in a village surrounded by hateful villagers surely he'll come to despise the village and turn against it someday." Danzo said earning mumers and nods of agreement from the civilian council most of them really believing that statement.

Hiruzens eyes filled with steel as he looked coldly to his former teammate then to the council.

"If any of you actually took the time to get to know Naruto you'd know that simply isn't a possibility. That boy has more love in his heart then the majority of the people on this council put together, and for a child who never really received love in the first place that says a lot." Hiruzen said calmly inwardly fustrated his eyes daring anyone to speak against what he just said.

"Even so an untrained Jinchiriki is just as usless as it is threatening which is why I'm urging you to-"

"Yes I've been considering it a prudent move to have young Naruto begin his training as soon as possible." Hiruzen interrupted

"With all the people in the village that despise his very presence shinobi and civilian alike, I'm sure most of his academy teachers will attempt to purposely impeed his progress or intentionally teach him nothing."

"For that reason I intended to request Nubutaka take him up as another student when little Naruto reaches five years of age seeing as the man is already teaching the best of the next generation and will also have a hand in training all future shinobi."

"Sir I don't think it wise to have that kid trained alongside the Shimura heirs or the Uchiha prodigies." A pale man on the civilian council said sounding unsure of directly addressing the Hokage.

"Why not?" Shikaku asked beating Hiruzen to the punch, wondering why the man objected to what he thought to be a great idea.

"Surely he'll only endanger and drag them down. I think it best to give lord Danzo care of the Kyubi brat and have him be made into a weapon for the leaf rather than a shinobi who is free to make his own choices and may one day turn against us. The kyubi's influence will take over eventually if he is allowed to live as an ordinary ninja. He already has the whiskers how long till he fully turns into the fox?"

"Are you claiming the Uchiha prodigies to be weak?" Fugaku interjected frowning at the man.

"N-no lord Fugaku -I just..-"

"Insinuated my son and Shisue Uchiha wouldn't be safe around a five year old boy who's only three as of now and doesn't know the first thing about chakra." Fugaku said causing the man to shrink and sit back down.

"Danzo?" Hiruzen asked expecting his old teammate to have more to say.

"I find the fact that we're putting a man who is basically a foreigner in such important roles to be unsettling. If Dursula village someday declared war on Konaha Nubutaka alone would no doubt give them a great advatange with all the intel he's in posession of and the bonds he has with our shinobi which could be easily exploted." Danzo said frowning.

"Luckily the man is a good person as is his family and the village he came from. I doubt that situation will ever occur." Fugaku said surprising the others by speaking on behalf of someone who wasn't an Uchiha.

"Ahh yes, your clan has been getting unusually close to the Monogahi as of late. How was it their compond came to be situated a short distance from yours again?" Danzo asked knowing full well how it happened.

 **FLASHBACK**

"So I'm free to pick any of these blue area's on the map for our compond?" Nubutaka asked the villages zoning manager while looking at a highlighted map of Konoha.

"Yes any blue area." Hiruzen answered for the man knowing how this process went.

Nubutaka continued to observe the map as the civilian shinobi and elder councils waited patiently for his decision.

"How come the Uchiha compond is so far removed from the rest of the village?" Nubutaka asked curiously, his question surprising all who were gathered in the council room.

For a moment no one answered and the room was silent till Danzo cleared his throat.

"The Uchiha since the establishment of the village have always acted as it's police force and as such are tasked with monitoring it's criminals too. Since the new jail was to be placed on the outskirts of the village after the old one was destroyed in the incident, we thought it best to have the Uchiha who's duty it is to matain the prison and see to it's prisoners within a short distance of the prison in the case that something should go wrong." Danzo answered.

"How often do things that require swift action happen in the prison?" Nubutaka asked still looking curious.

Koharu thinking quickly decided to be the one to answer his question before anyone else could.

"You see we ha-"

"Never." Came a voice from the right of the room where the gathered clan heads sat.

"Come again?" Nubutaka said thinking he'd heard the man right.

"Never." Fugaku said making his voice clearer Nubutaka catching on to the hint of bitterness he thought he might have heard the first time.

"Did your clan have any say in that?" Nubutaka asked turning to face Fugaku.

"Unlike the other clans who all recieved the land they wanted for the reconstruction of their componds after the attack the Uchiha were given no choice." Fugaku said the bitterness in his voice plain enough for everyone to detect now.

"The Uchiha are the leafs police force and as such it is detremental their location is one of convience where not only can they ensure the security of the prison but-"

"Be the first line of defense in the case of an attack on the eastern gates? You'd rather Uchiha lives be lost before the lives of anbu or the usual shinobi patrols and guards you'd station by the east gate if the Uchiha weren't already so close." Nubutaka said stunning everyone and looking back towards Konaha's zoning map.

"How dare you insinuate such a thing boy!" Homaru growled while Koharu glared daggers at the man.

"We of the elder council only ever do what is best for the leaf! As the villages police force the Uchiha sho-"

"That's enough Homaru!" Hiruzen cut in before the man could start crossing lines that offended anybody.

"Any reasons anyone besides the members of the elder council could come up with for placing the Uchiha on the villages outskirts would be purely conjecture and as such I'd prefer not to hear anything else on this topic, am I clear?" Hiruzen said sighing inwardly as he'd known moving them their against their own wishes would one day cause problems.

All offending parties nodded in silent agreement that they understood.

"Good. Now then, have you decided on a location where you'd like to start building your compond?" The old Hokage asked the young clan head who much to the confusion of the councils started smiling brightly as if he just came to some kind of wonderful revelation or life changing decision.

"Right here." He said pointing to a grey area on the map occupied by nothing a short distance away from the Uchiha compond on the outskirts of Konoha.

 **Present**

"Are you insinuating that I would tell lies about the man in an important council meeting just because I respect his charecter?" Fugaku said scowling at the untrusting man he found to be untrustworthy himself.

"I am saying those who aren't completly baise towards a person have no solid ground on which to stand and judge their charecter." Danzo fired back not fazed in the slightest.

"In that case I don't see how you think it's okay for you to keep manipilating civilian council members into constantly pressing the Hokage to place the Kyubi boy they've already formed strong opinons of into your program. If your statement is true who are they to honestly say what'd be best for the child?" Fugaku replied causing Danzo to scowl back.

"I have-"

Gentlemen please! Don't you think we've done enough of this for the day?" Hiruzen said cutting off Danzo and interrupting the debate.

Both men simply scowled at one another once more before turning their heads back to the center of the room.

"Now would anyone else like to inquire about anything or make something known?" Sarutobi asked hoping to go home soon.

"Why isn't the Monogahi clan head present for this meeting as he should be?" A civilian council member asked.

"He requested and was given leave from attending this meeting. Anything else?"

 **Hamura's POV**

"I hope you all found dinner as enjoyable as always. I hope you enjoyed yourself as well Anko, enough to consider joining us again sometime." Nubutaka said to his guest who stood by the double doors leading outside the compond.

"You mean I can come back if I want?" The girl asked looking hopeful.

"Of course! We love company here and it's good to see Hamura make a friend who isn't a shinobi." Nubutaka said looking to Hamura who was trying to keep it casual but couldn't help that his mood dropped when it reached the time for the girls to leave.

Hamura observed the girl as the surprise on her face was replaced with determination and she balled her fist up at her side.

"If it's not too much trouble do you think you could possibly train me to fight like Imari and Inoha?" Anko asked sounding unsure but looking as if she wouldn't take no for an answer.

Hamura looked at Nubutaka surprised knowing what his answer would be.

"At this rate I'll be personally training everyone in the village." Nubutaka said rubbing the back of his head with a sheepish smile.

"Sure I'll train you if you're up for it, but it won't be easy." He said adopting a serious face.

"That's okay I don't care how hard it'll be as long as I'm learning." The girl said with confidence.

Nubutaka smiled and turned to Imari and Inoha. "Would you two mind helping me with her training?"

"Of course not Bubu sama, we'd be honored!" Imari said smiling brightly beside her sister who nodded her agreement with a smile just as wide.

"Then it's settled, your training begins tomorrow. Meet me here at eight o clock sharp and we'll get you started on the basics." Nubutaka said smiling as he gained another student.

"Thank you lord Nubu-"

"Please don't, it's either Nubutaka or Nubutaka sensei all that proper stuff gives me a headache." The twins chuckled at their older cousin who they still addressed with honorifics occasionally regardless of how he felt about them.

"Thank you Nubutaka sensei!" Anko said bowing her head slightly.

"No problem kid there's a fire in your eyes not a lot pf people have. No doubt you could make an excellent shinobi." Nubutaka said honestly.

 _"You don't know they half of it."_ Hamura said to himself thinking back to how she sat on the alley floor with a kunai behind her back, killing intent inside her heart as the old guys bodyguards got closer and closer.

 _"If I'm honest with myself I probably saved their lives instead of saving Anko."_

"Geezer! What you going deaf on me or something? I know you can hear me!? Anko said as she crossed the lobby to stand in front of Hamura.

"Oh, sorry I was kinda stuck in my thoughts for a moment."

"Well... don't expect me to thank you again." The girl said crossing her arms.

Hamura looked at her again for a second before smiling.

"You're welcome fireball." He said playfully punching her shoulder bringing a small smile out of the young Anko.

 **Konoha streets-Hatsue's POV**

"Hatsue Nee chan?" Inoha asked looking up at the woman she was walking with.

"Yes Inoha?"

"...Where do you think Anko will go since she-"

"Sadly I don't know Inoha, and I don't feel comfortable enough to ask her either. I really wish there was something I could do to help but sadly I couldn't even help myself to become a shinobi a few months ago." Hatsue said staring at the back of the girl they were descrietly tailing.

"Why are we following her?" Imari asked jumping into the conversation.

"Well I... honestly I don't know. It's late and I want to make sure she makes it wherever she's going safe." Hatsue said sure about that part at least.

"I have an idea Nee chan." Imari said speeding up so that she was in front of Hatsue.

"What kind of idea?" The woman asked curiously as nothing she thought of seemed to actually be a viable option.

"I was thinking we could-"

Hatsue caught sight of three men dressed in nicer than average civilian clothes surround Anko and start leading her into an empty side street.

Imari had stopped talking when she noticed her Hatsue and her sister looking straight ahead with suspicion written over their features.

"Who are those guys do they know Anko?" Inoha asked sounding worried.

"Somehow I doubt their friends." Hatsue said leaping towards a nerby roof so she could easily keep the girl in sight.

"Hey Anko looks mad." Inoha said as she and Imari landed beside her on the roof.

"Girls these men look like nothing but trouble. I need you two to go down there and act as if you're her civilian friends. Try to find out who those men are who they work for and what they want with Anko." Hatsue asked the girls, her shinobi training automatically coming into play as her request sounded more like the command of a squad leader.

"Right!" The girls said in unison flickering to the end of the alley and running towards the men at a civilians pace.

 **Anko POV**

"I already told you idiots to leave me alone!" Anko yelled fustrated she'd forgotten the kunai she sat to the side when she changed her clothes in the Monogahi compond.

"If it were up to me we wouldn't be wasting our time with a brat right now, but you happen to come from one of the bosses best girls and you look just like her. Like it or not-"

"Anko chaaan!" A voice sounded and Anko felt her heart catch in her throat as Inoha and Imari came to stand behind the thugs who had her cornered against a wall.

"Uhmm...are you guys Anko's family or something?" Imari asked fingering her lip curiously.

"No...who the hell are you two?" The guy in the middle spoke turning around and eyeing the girls suspiciously.

"We're Anko's friends. We were just looking for her cause we promised we'd walk her home for playing with us today." Inoha said adopting her innocent smile which caused one of the guys to smirk.

"Hey Kenan, why don't we take these two with us? We aren't supposed to leave any witnesses, plus what with the fair skin and white hair I'm sure these two little rarities will grow into some of the most valuable assets the boss has ever had." The man said smiling leacherously toward the girls.

"Imari, Inoha run!" Anko yelled as a panic greater than anything she'd ever felt overtook her.

"Shut up whore!" The leacherous man growled slapping Anko hard making her fall to the ground right before kicking her in the ribs. The man started walking towards the now shocked twins stopping when a rock hit him in the back of the back of the head.

"You're gonna pay for that you little whore!" The man growled turning back to Anko.

She stood up holding her side glaring at him and his associates who began pulling out blunt weapons with all the fire they'd ever seen but before she could launch herself at the men in a desperate attempt to protect the twins three kunai flew from the dark all of them flying directly pass the head of each man landing in the ground behind them as more followed forming a complete circle.

Before Anko or the men had anytime to wonder what was going on flames suddenly started racing through the air seemingly connecting to the ends of the kunai and trapping the thugs in a circle of flaming strings which were connected to kunai embedded in the roofs of the surrounding ally.

A figure fell from the air and landed inside the circle.

Much to Anko's astonishment the figure was Hatsue. Her usually calm and gentle face stared at the men with crimson eye's holding one tomoe each and all the rage in the world.

Anko was shocked. This was not the kind and gentle Hatsue she'd just meant today. This was a skilled shinobi who apparently only displayed strength when need be, a shinobi who would die or kill to protect the things she cared about and in that moment seemed perfectly capable of the last.

 _"I don't get it, it's like she transformed into exactly what she needed to be for Imari and Inoha's sake. How does she seem so kind and gentle usually when she's capable of such rage and ferocity."_ Anko thought looking into the murderous eyes of the women who an hour ago she assumed to be the gentlest person in Konoha.

"Imari, Inoha...take Anko away from here, get to somewhere safe." Hatsue said her eyes calming slightly as she addressed the girls who stared at her as if they were seeing a whole new person.

"That's an order!" She barked after they continued to stand in the same spot stunned.

"R-Right!" The twins said rushing over to Anko and leaping to a roof knowing them to be the quickest routes of travel.

Before they leapt to the next one on their way to leave the area Anko heard words exchanged between Hatsue and the thugs.

"W-Who the hell are you?!" One of the men asked as his buddies remained to stunned for words.

"My name is Hatsue Uchiha. I will be your punishment, your horror, and your destruction, but first there's a few things you're going to enlighten me about. Starting with who you are and what you want with Anko, ending with who you work for and how you want to die if I'm feeling generous enough to let you choose." She said two kunai falling out of her sleeve's into her hands as she began approaching the now terrified men.

 **Nubutaka's POV**

"You aren't going to escort them home?" Hamura asked his brother raising an eyebrow.

"Naaah, Danzo always has at least one or two elite NEE operatives tailing the twins at any given time so there's never any real danger towards them, and with Hatsue's stealth and evasion skills it'd take a jonin or two chunin to actually take her down without her getting away or alerting someone."

"She's come a long way in a short time but it shouldn't be that surprising I guess since she is an Uchiha. I should have figured that man is the type to look after his assets though." Hamura said looking unthoughtful.

Nubutaka smiled at the boy. _"You're coming along nicely little brother."_ The clan head thought proudly.

"Well I'll see you later then." Nubutaka said heading to the window in his study.

"What, where are you going?" Hamura asked tilting his head.

"Fugaku has something he wishes to speak to me about and it's already late so I figure it'd be best not to keep him waiting." Nubutaka said waving as he jumped out of the window into the night.

A short while of sprinting later Nubutaka arrived outside of the compond.

"Ahhh lord Nubutaka, Fugaku sama has been expecting you." One of the Uchiha guards said as he ushered Nubutaka into the compound and proceeded to escort him to Fugaku's place.

When they reached the clan heads home the man lead Nubutaka around the back as if he'd been given specific instructions before hand.

"Nubutaka, glad you could make it." Fugaku said greeting the man.

"It's really no problem we are neighbors after all." Nubutaka smiled lightly at his comment which held only truth.

"Right... anyway, I've called you here because after observing you and your clan mates since your arrival in the village it's plain to see you are all fair and unbais towards anyone. Which is why I'd like your opinion on a few things." Fugaku said.

"Fire away." Nubutaka said almost raising an eyebrow.

"What do you think of the way Konoha views and treats the Uchiha?" Fugaku asked the question casually as if inquiring what the man thought of the weather.

Nubutaka although surprised by the question didn't let it show.

"Well in all honesty, I think the elder council doesn't trust you for some reason and it's plan to see most civilians are scared of you guys same as the civilian council. The shinobi council for the most part is indifferent towards the Uchiha besides the Hyuga who likely considers you their rivals."

"As for the way they treat the Uchiha I don't like it I think it's downright shameful to isolate and ostriches a clan because of something as petty as a rumour."

Fugaku nodded then turned around towards the house that sat behind them.

"What have I told you of ease dropping on my affairs Itachi?" Fugaku asked the shadows.

"My apologizies father but Saskue woke crying and I thought some fresh air would ensure he slept peacefully for the rest of the night. I didn't know you were occupying the garden until I heard voices out here an admittedly I became curious as to what you were discussing with Nubutaka sama." Itachi said bowing his head in apology careful not to rewake the small child Nubutaka figured to be Sasuke in his arms.

Fugaku crossed his arms and developed a thoughtful expression before his eyes went soft for just a moment as he appraised his sons.

"I suppose that's alright Itachi. I thank you for looking after your little brother since Matriarch duties have been harder on your mother lately."

"Yes mother has been very tired lately but I don't consider it to be a problem at all, I like watching Saskue." Itachi said glancing at the sleeping Uchiha.

"You're a good big brother Itachi." Nubutaka said remembering when Hamura was that little.

"Thank you Nubutaka sama." Itachi bowed his head in a show of gratitude and Nubutaka developed a tick mark at the boys habit of being painfully formal around his clan mates.

"You're welcome to sit out here till you and Sasuke have had your fill of fresh air, just try not to interrupt the conversation." Fugaku said looking to his oldest who nodded his agreement and sat down near his father but not so close as to seem as if he was intruding on their conversation.

"Well, on to the next question then." Fugaku said looking at Nubutaka again.

"If you were me and your clan was being ostrichesed by the very village you swore to protect what would you do?" Fugaku said as he stared at the man with the same unchanging expression.

"Welll... that's a hard one. I suppose I'd try proving all their reasons for seeing us as any different from the rest of the clans of Konoha were purely nonsense and anyone who would claim otherwise was simply spooting the words of a fool." Nubutaka answered back calmly with a thoughtful expression.

"If only it were that easy." Fugaku said adopting a thoughtful look himself.

"Nothing that's every really worth it's ever been easy. In the end even if you don't attain your goal but you know you've tried then that should serve as satisfaction enough for a job well done."

"Now those my friend are surely the words of a fool." Fugaku laughed causing Nubutaka to smirk.

"Dad did always say I was a bit of an optimist." Nubutaka said rubbing the back of his head.

"Good advice nonetheless, but for my last question I'd like to know if the Uchiha clan were to leave the village and Konoha were to come after us who would you side with Konoha or the Uchiha clan?" Fugaku asked getting serious again.

 _"That's a serious question. The Uchiha would never leave a village they've put their everything into since the warring states era, the way he phrased the question is a cover up for another one that basically ask the same thing, who do I side with first the leaf or the Uchiha."_

"Sorry Fugaku but I'd have to say Konoha. Upon coming here me and the Monogahi with me swore to protect Konaha and that's just what we'd do if we had to. But seeing as we have no qaulms with the Uchiha we'd likely try to find a situation with a compromise that leaves everyone satisfied in the end." Nubutaka finished hoping whatever Fugaku was asking him this for was purely hypothetical.

"I see." The clan head said turning his head and looking towards the moon.

"You're a good man Nubutaka I hope for strong relations between the Uchiha and the Monogahi in the near future." Fugaku said standing and extending his hand.

"Likewise." Nubutaka said grasping the man hand with his own shaking with him as a symbol of understanding before both men parted on their ways to the beds that gained them entry to the land of dreams.

 **Yukushia's POV**

Oh my goodness! These spas are better than the one's in Darsula, we've gotta come here again sometime Kushia!" Amaris said giddy over her now pampered skin, and gorgeously done nails.

"I told you Darsula couldn't possibly have the best of everything in the world." Yukushia said smiling loving to be proven right.

"Oh yea? Well I bet no one beats our sake." Amaris said smirking at her best friend.

"Oh no Marr we are not-"

"Come oonnn just one cup! Live a little or you're gonna be a lightweight forever!" Amaris said dragging her friend towards the nearest sake bar.

"Last time we checked my tolerance was higher than yours! We're on a mission Marris we can't ha-"

"Duck!"

The girls dropped their heads low to the ground as a civilian man with expensive clothes came flying from the bar they were just about to head inside.

"What was that you said about making me pay you back by other means? I'll be sure to make you pay for that filthy comment in blood!" A furious looking blonde woman wearing a green overcoat over a grey shirt that showed off her clevage, dark blue pants and black kunochi heels stepped from the gaping hole in the side of the establishment she was likely responsible for.

She walked towards the cowering man with a raised fist bringing it down only to look up in shock as she felt a strong gust of wind push her back before she could connect.

"Tsunade Senju?" Amaris asked standing behind the man with her hand outstretched.

"And you are?" Tsunade asked scowling at the woman who gave her a bad feeling the moment she spoke her name.

"Amaris Monogahi, second in command of the tracker squad tasked with bringing you back to the leaf village." Amaris smiled knowing from the scowl the Sannin just directed towards her she wouldn't go without any type of fight.

"Why the hell would the leaf send a tracker squad after me? I thought I told the old man I was never heading back to that hell hole!" Tsunade said clearly angered further at the information.

"We were told to bring you back by force if necessary." Yukushia stated calmly from behind Amaris.

Tsunade scoffed at the young women.

"And you brats really feel as if you're capable of that? The old man must be going seniel, sending two brats after me." She spat causing Amaris to draw her blade and rush forward.

Quicker than they eye could see the silver haired girl had closed the distance between the two and raised her sword bringing it down in a powerful swing which the Sannin easily countered with the pointer finger of her left hand.

"Woah!" Amaris said shocked, expecting her attack to be blocked but not with a finger.

"How's about I teach you your place brat!" Tsunade said grabbing and pulling Amaris's sword, grabbing her shirt, then letting go of the sword and swinging a fist down towards the girl.

"Lady Tsunade nooo!" A dark haired women shouted from behind the blonde.

Tsunade's fist connected with thin air as the girl vanished from her grip in a flash of blue lightning.

Suddenly she was back in front of her grabbing the Sannins shirt and disappearing again.

 **Third person story POV**

Landing hard on the ground but feeling none of it Tsunade stood up and appraised the kunochi standing opposite of her in a large field that looked to be somewhere outside the town.

"You know back in my day kunochi weren't liked for being pretty we had to be strong to be acknowledged."

"And you think we were given such an important mission while being known for nothing other than our looks?" Amaris asked frowning at the rude drunken women.

"Seeing as besides that fancy teleportation move of yours I haven't seen anything that would lead me to believe otherwise, yes I do." Tsunade said balling her fist wanting for a fight.

"I guess we'll have to show you." Yukushia said calmly as a mini forest of trees began rising around the group.

"What the hell!? That can't be m-"

"Think fast." Amaris said appearing behind Tsunade, her malestorm chariot active.

Tsunade pushed chakra into her legs leaping over the wide sword swing Amaris made that looked to be an attempt to bisect or at least severly wound the woman.

Before Tsunade could touched the ground a large amount of vines began racing from all directions in the small forest forcing the sannin to jump duck and punch continuesly as Amaris came in and out of the frey trying to find a weakness in the blonde woman's stalwart defense's.

Although heavily intoxicated the busty blonde was still one of the best shinobi the elemental nations had ever seen and undoubtebly its best kunochi.

Her battle field experience allowed for her to keep her mind surprisingly clear.

 _"The lightning user is obviously the offensive one of out the duo, but besided creating those vines out of those tree's I have no idea what the other one's capable of, I gotta be careful here."_ The sannin thought dodging another barrage of vines ducking to avoid Amais's sword punching a large root which attacked her to pieces and repeating the proccess in different orders.

Getting tired of being on the defensive Tsunade punched the ground with unbelievable force causing large chunks of rock and earth to be missplaced which in turn caused Yukushia's entire forest to topple.

Seeing her opprotunity she leapt high in the air towards Amaris with her fist cocked back channeling chakra.

"Lighting style: Super zap dragon!" Amaris said holding out her hands as she leapt from the falling tree she was just standing on.

A boulder sized dragon made of lightning formed around Amaris and rushed towards the Sannin with a deafining roar that sounded like lightning.

"Haahh!" Tsunade shouted punching the lightning dragon into nothing.

 _"No way...that attack is strong enough to destroy an entire area..."_ Amaris thought feeling scared for her safety as the Sannin drew closer to her in the air.

Just as Tsunade swung a root rose from the ground at blinding speeds knocking the women off course and into the ground hard.

Yukushia rush to her friend catching her before she hit the ground.

"Marris I think we'd better fight this women with all we've got." Yukushia said unsheathing her katana.

"No doubt, if she's this strong I wonder where Jiriya and Orochimaru stand in comparison." Amaris replied her storm cloak becoming more unstable as she added water to the lightning and wind making it a true storm cloak.

"Hopefully we'll live long enough to find out." Yukushia said looking at the Sannin who rose from the crater she formed in the ground, her chakra growing heavy creating an aura around her and cracking the ground as she walked.

"Let's end this now little kunochi. I have better things to be doing than fighting Konoha tracker nin." She said stopping a short distance away from the girls.

"Fine with us old lady." Amaris said challenging more chakra to her storm cloak, Yukushia smirking at her old lady comment raising more trees around them and infusing the ground around the imediate area with her chakra.

"What did you just call me?!" Tsunade said as her chakra gained a menacing feel to it.

"Ahhh-d-ahhh... I said-"

"Spare me your lies. I'll make you pay for that comment with blood!"

Amaris and Yukushia sweat dropped as they grew more nervous. Shaking off their new founded fear of the women they both got into their own battle stance preparing for the clash.

The mature sannin and the young silver haired kunochi let out their own individule battle cries as they rushed each other Amaris kicking up large amounts of dust and dirt forming small craters in the ground with every step as she zigzaged towards the sannin, Tsunade doing the same only leaving much bigger crators as she charged the young kunochi.

Tsunade clashed with Amaris, the chaotic energy of Amaris's elemental chakra and the raw power of Tsunades chakra pushed the tree's in the imediate area back as a large shock wave sweapt over the battle field forcing Yukushia to shield her face from debris.

Seeing Amaris struggling to hold her own as Tsunade pushed againt her sword which she had blocked with her forearm Yukushia held her hands out thankful for the distraction and using her vines sent a barrage of thorns rushing towards the sannin.

Tsunade seeing the attack smirked at the uselessness of it against an opponnent like her, allowing the pins to hit her surprised when they actually managed to damage her skin.

Amaris capitalized on her momentary lack of concentration and pushed Tsunade's arm back quickly turning her sword placing it in a striking position and swinging with all her might.

"Stupid girl can't you seen that won't work!" Tsunade said bringing her left arm foward catching the blade in her palm in the nick of time.

In that same moment Yukushia rose from the dirt behind the sannin, sword already arched. When she swung Tsunade's brain had to double time. She sent more chakra to her legs and leapt into the air letting go of the lightning charged blade she just held which belonged to Amaris.

Tsunade compressed the chakra already in her legs into one area in her heel as she dropped towards the ground.

Vines began to shoot from tree's once again lashing at Tsunade who with her very potent chakra enhancing her physical capabilities felt virtually nothing and didn't even need to react to the boulder crushing plants.

Not caring in the slightest Yukushia began forming hand signs as she poured more of her chakra into the ground demanding the roots of her tree's attack the sannin, many large roots speeding out of the ground towards the falling blonde in response.

Amaris stood to the side running through her own hand signs just as Yukushia finished hers. Tsunade was forced to channel chakra into her fist destroying root after root as she neared the ground.

"Earth style: Thousand senbon strike!" Yukushia shouted spreading her arms causing the ground to split open and begin firing a heavy barrage of sharp spikes of earth just as thin as senbon.

"Arrraaahh!" Tsunade shouted increasing the potency of the chakra that shielded her body from physical harm temporarily displacing the air around her body for a moment as her chakra became heavy enough to push and weigh down the air. The makeshift earth senbon broke against her skin like rain drops as she fell.

Amaris finally finishing her long chain of hand signs ran directly below the falling sannin and held up her left hand grabbing her arm with her right as her lightning cloak disappeared seemingly absorbed into her palm.

"Lightning style: Devestating boom!" Amaris shouted unleashing a huge bolt of lightning that let out a thunderous boom upon being launched.

Tsunade knocked away one more root before flipping around placing her left heel forward.

"Heaven kick of pain!" She shouted her foot meeting the huge lightning bolt head on and cutting through it.

"No way..." A now heavily exhausted and shocked Amaris whispered on the ground.

"Earth style: Solid dome justu!" Yukushia said as she rushed to Amaris and formed a sturdy five layered dome.

 **Somewhere back in town**

"That's right ladies, not only am I the author of the soon to be famous Make out tactics series, but I also happen to be a pretty nice guy an-"

Jiriya was cut of by a load boom then he stumbled around a few seconds later as the entire town shook in some kind of mini earthquake.

 _"No way it can't be! Tsunade hime?"_ Jiriya thought as he quickly apologized to the women he'd already paid to spend the night with him and disappeared in a flicker on his way to the outskirts of town.

 **Somewhere else in town**

A door slammed open as a silver haired man in shinobi gear stepped into the hall seeing the exact person he was about to go find.

"Enu, did you feel that?" Kakashi asked slipping on the shoe he'd just taken off a few minutes ago.

"Indeed I did, feels like a battle between powerful shinobi that was just supposed to come to an end."

"Can your beatles lead us to where those chakra signatures came from?"

Enu nodded and him and Kakashi began a mad dash towards the shinobi responsible for all the commotion.

Both Konoha jonin recognizing one of the chakra signatures being completely shocked at the absurd amount of power they felt from the other. What worried Kakashi though was the fact that he could feel the last two attacks and he wasn't even a sensory ninja, and then who could push Amaris to unleash such a powerful attack? He hoped that when they arrived she would be okay.

 **Back outside of town**

Tsunade stood in a large crater in the middle of an area that looked as if it'd just been hit by a meteor. Large chunks of earth and dirt lay everywhere. A large cloud of dust and debris still hung over the battlefield, the entire area was now uneven large rocks coming out of the ground in jagged columns as if forced out by the earth itself. The entire immediate area appeared to be heavily scared, all the nerby trees being toppled or split into pieces, every boulder being crushed and the land itself now barren with not a blade of grass in sight.

Tsunade felt her adrenaline begin leaving her system as she surveyed the land and kept her eye open for any sign of the young kunochi.

Having shaken off some steam in the battle Tsunade began feeling guilty as she picked through the rock lifting up the heaviest pieces in hopes that the leaf kunochi managed to survive but were just buried under the ruble somewhere.

A small explosion went off to her left and she turned smiling inwardly at seeing both the women she was looking for sporting injures, Amaris resting on Yukushia's shoulder.

"I underestimated you two." She said taking a step towards the girls.

Amaris and Yukushia got back into their battle stances and began staring down the sannin who crossed her arms and looked at them curiously. Yukushia moved some hair out of her face and Tsunade caught sight of the blood that was leaking from a wound on her forehead.

The Sannin started hyperventilating and dropped to her knees trapped in the grusome memories of times passed.

Amaris and Yukushia sparred each other a confused glance before Amaris sheathed her blade and ran to the visibly distressed woman.

"Hey are you okay?" What's wrong?" She query placing a hand on the woman's shoulder.

Yukushia approached the women and stood next to them thinking back on what could've possible triggered the blondes hysteria.

"I think I know what's wrong with her." Yukushia said remembering when the blonde woman seemed to lose it.

"What?" Amaris asked with urgency as she craddled the woman who seemed to be sobbing someone's name as she stared at something that wasn't there.

"The sight of blood terrifies her, or makes her relive really painful or tramutizing memories. "We need to help her realize she isn't in the past."

Amaris looked at the sannin with sadness as she thought of potential ways to wake the women fom her trance.

"I think I know a way." Yukushia said smiling.

She wiped some of the blood from her face and held her bloody hand in front of the sannin.

"Yukushia what are you doing!?" Amaris shouted not wanting to make the woman more hysterical.

"Just watch." Yukushia said creating a shadow clone and getting closer to the sannin.

"Hey old lady! It's nice to know you're scared of blood and all but we're kind of in a rush right now." Yukushia said waving her bloody hand in front of the sannin who shrunk away from the crimson substance.

"We'll be taking you back to Konoha now. Jiriya's volunteered to be the one who'll carry you." Yukushia said nodding to her shadow clone who henged into an exact replica of the toad sage.

"Don't worry princess I'll be sure to take care of you!" Yukushia's clone said in a leacherous voice that sounded like Jiriya's as it began approaching the blonde.

Tsunade's eyes flashed with a brief wave of recognition which quickly melted into anger as she felt a hand snake it's way under her leg to caress a part of her upper thigh. She moved her gaze away from the bloody hand in her face to the face of the shadow clone that smirked lightly and paled at the deadly expression on the sannins face.

"Like hell you will pervert! I'm going to beat you black and blue for that!" The blonde snapped as clarity rushed back into her eyes and her expression became something that would've inspired horror in greater and lesser shinobi alike.

She punched the clone hard feeling a satisfying crunch of bones breaking against her fist and jumped to her feet pulling her other arm back, ready to punish the man some more.

The perfect copy of Jiriya burst into smoke not even a second later leaving Tsunade confused standing with her other fist posed to strike.

When her thoughts came together two seconds later she took notice of the silver haired kunochi who looked at her with worry hidden behind a curious gaze, and the plant user who had a light smirk on her face.

She stood just to her side with a bloody hand as her smirk transformed into a victorious smile. Tsunade analized the two surprised that the sight of a smirking and slightly bloodied Yukushia didn't throw her into a fit of hysterics. She noticed a trail of tears on the lightning users shirt. Reaching up to touch her own cheek she felt moisture and put two and two together. Amaris had been comforting her while Yukushia had probably snapped her out of it.

She looked over the exhausted and battered kunochi who were watching her as if unsure weather she'd attack or not. Technically refusing to come with them did make her an enemy of Konoha, or at the least a very powerful missing nin.

Instead of taking advantage of her weakness like any other sensible shinobi they made sure she was okay and even helped her to get over her phobia. She felt gratitude she hadn't felt for anyone other than Shizune in years.

"Thank you." She said standing up and placing her palm on Yukushia's forehead as her old medic nin instincts snapped back into place.

A few minutes later Amaris and Yukushia were back to mint condition, besides being low on chakra, tired and having battle worn clothes the sannin had fully rejuvenated the girls.

"Tsunade hime!" A familar voice came from behind the girls interrupting their conversation.

Jiriya landed in the clearing appearing relieved as Tsunade scowled at the man.

"What did I tell you about calling me that?"

"I missed you too princess." Jiriya said smiling brightly.

Tsunade just scoffed in reply but did inwardly admit seeing her old teammate felt kind of nice.

"Since you all are sitting here peacefully I take it you've agreed to return to the hidden leaf?"

"No." Tsunade said with iron.

"But why not?" Jiriya asked his fellow sannin.

"Everyone I've ever loved or cared for has died for that village. I don't see why I should be expected to do the same. What's one more fool making one more meaningless sacrifice after all?" Tsunade said now turning and looking away from the group of Konoha shinobi.

"You can't be serious can you? I even knew we'd have to go back someday and you always called me a fool. We're Sannin for peets sake, Konoha is who we are hime, it's where we belong. There is no other place for us in the world. You're the first Hokages granddaughter you can't just turn your back on the village when it needs us." Jiriya said his voice adopting a serious quality Yukushia wouldn't have expected him to have.

"I just want to live the rest of my life the way I see fit. Sarutobi sensei already has enough shinobi willing to die for Konoha, he can't be selfish enough to ask the same of me can he?" Tsunade said as she turned around to stare at Jiriya critically.

"Actually it's his duty as Hokage to be selfish for the sake of the village." Kakashi said landing in the field with Enu.

"Great another one of sensei's task dogs...no offense." Tsunade said looking to Yukushia and Amaris who both just smiled glad the sannin wasn't speaking to them like lesser kunochi anymore.

"Are you okay?" Kakashi asked Amaris taking in her exhausted appearance and her battered state of clothing noticing she didn't appear to have any injures.

"Huh...Oh yeah I'm fine." Amaris replied blushing at Kakashi's concern just as much as she did from his curious gaze which looked her over for injures.

Kakashi noticed her get self-conscious and avert her eyes and felt his face warm up underneath the mask. He quickly turned back towards the blonde sannin who was now looking at the two with a raised eyebrow. Feeling even more awkward he averted his eyes from the curious stare and racked his brain for the most logical way to the change the subject.

"With all due respect Tsunade sama, as a shinobi of Konoha dying for the village is your responsibility." Enu said making Kakashi twice as grateful for his Aburame teammate.

Tsunade shot the man a death glare and stood up looking ready to leave just as Shizune arrived in the field running towards her master with a facial expression ripe with concern and worry.

"I will not die for the hidden leaf village again. That damned place already took my life from me twice when I had to deal with the deaths of Dan and my little brother. Konoha didn't make it any better. The village never gave me another reason for living, so why the hell should I be expected to live for the village then?" Tsunade said yelling the last part at the entire group, her chakra creating a thin aura around her as she got mad and really wanted to punch something.

"Lady Tsunade! Are you okay?" Shizune said panting as she stopped in front of the woman.

"I'm fine Shizune, we were just leaving." Tsunade said taking a few steps back in the direction towards town before Jiriya got in her way.

"Really Jiriya? Do you plan on bringing me back to the leaf by force?" Tsunade asked scowling at the man.

"No." Jiriya said pulling his former teammate into a hug.

Tsunade was too stunned to react at the moment, her brain was so surprised she consciously couldn't process what was happening.

"Be sure to look after yourself okay? I may not agree with the things you believe in these days but I do understand where you're coming from. Sarutobi sensei might be upset but as long as you stay safe that's enough for me princess." Jiriya said ending the hug before she could snapped out of her shocked stupor and remind the man why he never touched her.

"Come on guys we'll be heading back to Konoha tomorrow. I'll take the heat for not being able to bring Tsunade back." Jiriya said walking away and leaving no room for argument.

Kakashi and Enu looked at the stunned sannin before the team leader shrugged and offered a hand to his kunochi teammates who likely only had enough energy left to walk to the hotel they'd be staying in for the night.

After Kakashi helped Amaris and Yukushia to their feet Amaris walked over to stand beside the blonde sannin who seemed to be having trouble with her own thoughts.

"Honestly I can understand why you detest the idea of giving everything to a village that only takes from you and then expects more. But the idea of the hidden leaf village came from the desire to protect those who couldn't protect themselves and to ensure a future where kids dying on a battle field wasn't an average part of life." Amaris said looking Tsunade in the eyes.

"Having the courage and strength to fight for what is just while never giving up on making your dreams reality no matter what obsticals or hardships you face is the idea that Konoha was founded on and also the foundation of the will of fire that keeps the village strong to this day." She remarked as she smiled softly in fondness of her new home.

"I think its a privledge to give your life for a system that was developed for the sole purpose of protecting others. We ninja exist to fight so that others don't have to. Anyone who's ever died for their village died for something greater than themselves that they undoubtly believed in." She noticed Tsunade clenching her fist but bravley decided to continue.

"I wouldn't call them fools. I'd call them hero's, every single one. We all know what's at stake the moment we dawn our headbands but we do it for a reason. In the end the only person that can choose what someone's life is worth is them theirselves and if they gave their lives for the village they likely thought it to be worth it." Amaris finished hoping the blonde understood some of what she was trying to say.

Tsunade remained quiet and Amaris took that as her qeue to go. She signaled to her teammates that she was done and Kakashi and Enu began walking back towards town.

She and Yukushia thanked Tsunade for healing them and wished her the best as their group walked back towards their hotel.

Tsunade stood rooted to the spot shocked at the maturity she'd never seen before in her old teammate but mostly at the words she'd recieved from the young kunochi who seemed to have a wisdom beyond her years.

 **Hatsue's POV**

The Uchiha women entered the dimly lit Shimura clan compond having been escorted there by a NEE opperative who notified her that Imari and Inoha had arrived at the compond with some strange girl requesting that she be sent assistance.

"Lord Danzo request your pressence immediatly. He says that you will be allowed to speak with the girls soon after he's discussed a very important matter with you." A house servant told Hatsue who upon hearing Danzo requested an audience with her grew nervous.

Nubutaka made sure to teach her about everyone who held any importance in Konoha, especially those she might encounter one day.

Danzo being the shadiest member of the elder council and head of the leafs secret anbu sect, Nubutaka made sure she knew enough of the foster father of her teammates to be wary of him.

She was escorted through the compond into a barely lit office that was noticably darker than the rest of the compond.

In a chair sitting in the back of the room in front of a large desk sat a man covered entirely by shadow.

Hatsue had never meant Konoha's ninja of shadow before but something inside her knew this man to be him.

"Hatsue Uchiha... I'm sure you're now aware that I have NEE operatives tail Imari and Inoha when their away from the compond." Danzo said his statement sounding like a question.

"Yes I am now aware of this." Hatsue said plainly wondering what the man wanted.

"Well then, you know I am aware of everything that just happened leading to the twins retreating to the safety of this compond with a purple haired girl named Anko."

"Yes sir I am aware. What relation does any of this have with my being summoned here?" Hatsue asked the elder respectfully.

"My NEE operatives are tasked with observing and keeping the twins safe, but thanks to your efforts tonight they had no need to intervene. I would like to commend you on a job well done."

Hatsue was silent for a moment, she didn't know how to react to the man's praise. She felt wrong, she felt sick, she just wanted to go home and rest. To forget about tonight.

"I only did what I had to do to protect the girls, sir." Hatsue said bowing slightly knowing that wasn't entirely true.

Danzo however decided not to press her on the truth of that statement.

"My NEE operatives are taking care of the scene you left behind as we speak...weather or not you report tonight's happening to the Anbu or the leaf police is entirely up to you."

Hatsue flinched slightly surprised the man was covering for her. She killed those men in cold blood after she'd gotten all the information she felt they possessed through torture and intimidation, which honestly it hadn't took much of.

She felt as if she deserved some kind of punishment. Those guys were scum but they were human after all and she hadn't even given them a quick death.

"Why exactly would you cover for me sir?" Hatsue asked being straightforward.

Danzo was not the type of man who did things that didn't benefit him somehow in the long run.

"I like the way you handled the situation. I must say for Nubutaka to have only begun training you two months ago he's certainly done a splendid job." Danzo complemented.

"Thank you for the kind words sir but is that your only reason?" Hatsue asked knowing that not to be a good enough reason for a man with Danzo's motivations.

"When you stepped into my office my first intention was formally extending an invitation to my NEE program. However upon looking into those sharingan of yours I see caution, mistrust, and fear. It is now obvious to me you'd quickly deny my request, but you're still Inoha and Imari's future teammate." Danzo said trailing off as if thinking of the best way to put what he'd say next.

Hatsue blinked twice not even knowing she'd activated the sharingan shocked at the information. She kept her facial expressions neutral like Nubutaka had told her was always best when dealing with fellow shinobi.

"I'd like for you to continue looking after Imari and Inoha as you have but don't spare them the darkness of the world. It would have been best if you'd have let them watch how you delt with those low lives."

Hatsue wanted to protest but thought better of it and kept silent.

"I'd also like to extend to you an offer for special training." Danzo said in the same tone he always spoke.

"Special training?" She asked not liking the idea of receiving any kind of special training under the ninja of shadow.

"Yes. Seeing as Nubutaka is already training you in the art of stealth, ninja wiring, weapons techniques, and battle field strategy. I extend an invitation to have you trained inside a NEE facility, as well as to have you undertake missions beside my operatives so that in a couple of years when Imari and Inoha have graduated you'll have all the experience needed to serve as team captain." Danzo offered a shocked Hatsue.

"I don't understand. Why am I being offered this invitation?" Hatsue asked actually thinking about accepting.

"Most jonin sensei grow attached to and start shielding and protecting their students from the world. This only serves to stunt the growth of the ninja in turn. You however showed a willingness to expose the twins to the darkness they'd eventually find in the world anyway when you told them to act as civilian children and see what the men wanted with the girl. At the same time you moved to protect them without hesitation when they were actually being threatened with physically violence."

"After observing you for a short while the past few weeks and after your actions tonight I know that you would make the perfect squad leader for them. You won't coddle them and hinder their progress as kunochi because you know rather than little girls they are shinobi, but you will protect them with your life as you see them to be something of sisters to you and vice versa."

"The girl's are very fond of you, they look up to you even. They'll fight harder for you than anyone else. As you grow stronger they'll be motivated to grow stronger, and with you as their squad leader they'll be sure to learn and grow faster than if it was anyone else. I ask you this for the benefit of Imari and Inoha." Danzo finished.

"I'll need some time to think about it." Hatsue answered back.

"I thought you'd say as much. Feel free to think it over, the offer isn't going anywhere.. Now about that Anko girl."

"I'm sorry Imari and Inoha brought her here. I told them to get to somewhere safe and this was probably the only place besides the Monogahi compond that they knew." Hatsue apologized with a bow hoping she didn't offend the man by having his daughters bring a street urchin into his home

"Please there's no need for apologies, that girl has the eyes and untrained mind of a shinobi and I'd like to extend to her the same offer I extended to you just a bit different." Danzo said surprising the woman.

"Why would you do that?" Hatsue asked more than a little curious.

"When Imari and Inoha arrived with the girl they were practically hysterical, upset that you were fighting alone and that the men forced some kind of change within you. The girl however seemed to be entirely calm and not only that but when asked what she thought of the situation she replied quickly in a casual manner that what she thought didn't really matter and that only what happened held any true relevance." Danzo said.

"Furthermore when my clans shinobi medic attempted to review her for injures she managed to slip a kunai from his holder and threaten him with it before being calmed by Inoha and Imari. Her natural distrust of others as well as her easy use of deception is something all shinobi should train to perfect, yet she already seems to have it down in spades." The elder commented.

"You think she's of the right mindset to become a shinobi?" Hatsue replied knowing where he was heading.

"It should be obvious to anyone who's observed the girl that she might possibly make a splendid kunochi." He said letting that comment hang in the air.

"What are the terms on which you'd train her?" Hatsue asked feeling it'd be best if Danzo was allowed nowhere near the girl they were discussing but curious all the same.

"Since she is homeless the first thing I'd offer would be a place inside this compond to call her own. She'd be formally adopted into the Shimura clan becoming one of my hiers next to Inoha and Imari."

"Make no mistake however, I extend this offer only because the girls seem to have grown fond of her as well and I'd prefer for the people my hiers spend time with to be skilled shinobi that will push them to improve. Admittedly Inoha and Imari are already leaning towards the optimistic and sentimental views of the current Hokage."

"The girl from what I've seen of her so far seems to posses all the qualities I've been trying to find and bring out of the twins."

"You think having her around the twins who are younger than her and slightly less mature will steer them towards the path you wish for them to take." Hatsue said more than she asked.

"The man has trained you well indeed to read beneath the lines so easily. You'll one day make an admirable kunochi if you keep on that path, and yes that's exactly what I'm hoping for, but if not at least I'll have an hier who does hold the same views as me." Danzo said sounding truthfull.

"I'll talk to her and see what she thinks about it." Hatsue said deactivating her sharingan now knowing it was the reason she felt so fatigued.

"Very well then that is all. You can find Imari and Inoha in the dojo. Akilies will lead you there." Danzo said going back to the paperwork Hatsue could see now that her eyes adjusted to the dimly lit room.

She wondered how he was able to see the words on the paper in the dark room when a big man with a face full of scares stepped from the shadows and walked towards the office door.

Hatsue followed figuring him to be Akilies.

She arrived at the Shimura clan dojo and saw the twins sparing angrily with a man wearing the NEE uniform.

Anko sat in a corner on the far side of the room being the first to notice the Uchiha woman besides the NEE operative.

Hatsue stood where she was not wanting to interrupt the girls training when she felt a presence beside her, surprised to find Anko had stealthily made her way to her side without either of the girls noticing.

"Are you okay, Anko Chan?" Hatsue asked observing the girls face.

"I'm fine. What about you?" Anko asked betraying no emotion.

"I'll live." Hatsue said not trying to recall the screams of the men she first scorched and later disembowel in her anger before leaving them for dead.

"How'd you do it?" Anko asked looking at the woman curiously.

"Do what?" Hatsue replied.

"Transform like that all of a sudden! I never even took you for a shinobi before but when you stared down those guys it was like I was seeing an entirely different person." Anko said oddly sounding excited.

Hatsue looked away from the girl sadly.

"A true shinobi fights to protect others and to serve their village. What you saw was just a transition from me being a civilian from the Uchiha clan to a shinobi in training doing her duty, or at least what she thought was right."

"Can you teach me how to be a shinobi?" Anko asked leaning forward her eyes pleading.

"I thought you were going to begin training with Nubutaka tomorrow?"

"Yeah but he's gonna just teach me how to fight as a way to defend myself, not how to be a shinobi and protect the people I care about. I want to be able to do what you just did. To go from plain regular unassuming me to someone capable of protecting myself and the people close to me." Anko said with determination.

"Once you learn how to fight and your loved one's are threatened I think that just happens, there's no specific training for it." Hatsue said hoping to calm the girl.

"Yeah but you were awesome back there! I would've never guess someone as kind and gentle as you could be so scary!"

"When you look at people like Nubutaka and Hamura it's pretty clear that their shinobi or that they aren't regular civilians by their clothes and the way they carry themselves. Up until now I thought you were just some kind of caretaker for Imari and Inoha. I'd of never guessed you were a shinobi in training. I'd like to be trained by you Hatsue sama! I think you could teach me in a way Nubutaka couldn't."

Hatsue thought now would be a good time to tell Anko of the proposal Danzo had for her but before she could the twins took notice of her presence and rushed to her and Anko.

"Are you okay Hatsue Nee chan?" Inoha asked looking her over.

"I'm fine thanks for asking." Hatsue said smiling fondly at the twins.

"You scared us!" Imari said looking upset.

"Sorry I made you both leave but I didn't know if those men were former shinobi or just normal thugs. I didn't want to take a chance on putting any of you in danger."

"It's okay Nee chan, Imari's just upset father saw her crying." Inoha said with a cheeky smile.

Imari frowned at her sister and turned away embarrassed.

"Why were you crying Imari?" Hatsue asked placing a hand on the girls shoulder.

"I- well..."

"When we saw you look at those guys and you told us to go somewhere safe it was like you weren't you and we were scared that those guys might have made you change somehow, especially when your eyes turned red..that was scary." Inoha answered for her sister.

"We have plenty of cousins in the Monogahi clan but we've never had a big sister before we don't wanna lose you." Imari said still looking embarrassed.

Hatsue smiled brightly thankful to have accepted Nubutaka's offer to start training alongside the twins two months ago.

"Well depending on what Anko says to the offer your father has extended towards her you may have another one soon."

 **Thank you guys for reading, this chapter was a long one you probably felt got boring towards the end but everything that happens in the story happens for a reason. I hope the canon characters are all in character although I'm changing events their personalities will all be the same as they were in the anime. I hope my OC's aren't annoying you guys they get too much screen time I know :D about them being OP Amaris and Yukushia's fight with Tsunade was meant to show how the Monogahi are kind of OP but not as OP as they seem. To me most ninja in the Narutoverse were complete fodder that's something this fic will address by placing them on a level I feel is consistent with their rank and what their skill should be that's the goof thing about the Monogahi being OP compared to regular Naruto standards I'll be able to more easily display how much stronger other ninjas are here than in canon.**

 **Think about it like this, Tsunade in canon would pretty much wreck anyone besides other Op characters like Madara, Pien, Obito, ect.**

 **Here we have a stronger version of Tsunade who still loses out those characters easily defeating Amaris and Yukushia not only while drunk but while not seriously trying and holding back as well. My OC's wouldn't even be able to breathe on true OP characters like Madara, Hashirama, Tobirama, Nagato, Six paths Naruto/Sasuke, Konohamaru's scarf, Six paths Ichiraku ramen, or dare I say the farmer with a shotgun. Nubutaka is the only true OP one right now the others are just flashy.**

 **If you're having trouble understanding how Tsunade was able to keep up with Amaris the answer is simple. She uses chakra to amplify her physical strength, whoever said she couldn't do the same for speed?**

 **I had to give Anko an important spot in the story because she'll play a big part in things later plus I think she'll do very well for flashu battles beside Hatsue and the twins.**

 **Naruto will be making his debut in the story either in the next chapter or the one after that I know a lot of a lot of people that read the fic are probably like "Four chapters already no Naruto what the hell isn't this guy supposed to be a main character?" Don't worry guys he's coming.**

 **I really hope you guys like this chapter and are enjoying the story so far, be sure to leave a review if you have any questions, cares, concerns or any kind of advice or just to let me know what u think I'd really appreciate it.**

 **Fun Fact #9**

 **I'm looking forward to Naruto entering this fic more than anything else but I am not rushing things the story must be developed so he can come in to the right setting.**

 **His time will come.**


	6. Chapter 6

H **ey guuys gonna start doing reader POV's or as I did in the last chapter third person story POV's. I like doing different character POV's because I can let you know how a specific person is thinking as it tells the story from their point of view leaving the readers to guess what everyone else is thinking or how they feel. Reader POV's or writting in the third person (I think is what that is) is easier because I can just display anyone's thoughts or write from a removed point of view letting u get a feel for what everyone's thinking or feeling. I'll still mostly stick to character POV's for now tho.**

*Kakashi's *POV*

"Hey mask kun?" Amaris said from beside Kakashi who developed a tick mark.

"I told you it's Kakashi." He said sounding irritated.

Amaris smiled not apologizing for her disregard of his real name.

"But I think mask kun is cute! Not that Kakashi doesn't have it's own ring to it." Amaris said smiling at Kakashi who ignored her last statement.

"You know you've been stuck inside that book ever since you got it. What's it about?" Amaris asked leaning over his shoulder causing Kakashi to shut the book abruptly.

"In some cultures it's considered rude to pry you know." Kakashi said stopping and looking at the smiling kunochi.

"But I wasn't prying into things of a personal matter I was just asking a question about that book that seems to be stealing all of your attention. The way you closed it in a hurry really makes me suspicious, it isn't some kind of erotic novel is it?"

"NO. It just happens to be a good book is all."

"Oh really?" Amaris asked arching an eyebrow. "In that case you wouldn't mind loaning it to me once your done reading it? I-"

"There you are!" The dark haired women from yesterday known as Shizune said interupting Amaris stopping in front of her and Kakashi.

"I've been looking all over for your group. I wanted to say thank you for what you did for lady Tsunade." The woman said looking at Amaris who looked like she was wondering why she was holding a pig.

"It's okay, I should tell her thank you for sparring me and Yukushia. We didn't know she'd been holding back on us the entire time till that last attack. She likely could have ended us at any moment with raw power like that." Amaris said smiling towards the kind woman.

"That's not at all lady Tsunades way. While it is true she gets carried away sometimes she really never kills anyone if she can help it."

"Lucky me." Amaris smirked.

"If it's okay with you though I'd like to thank her one last time before we leave in about an hour or so whenever Jiriya crawls out of the bed of whatever hooker he found last night."

Kakashi looked at her curiously wondering how she came to the assumption he'd went to bed with a prostitute last night.

"That's no problem at all, the ladies still sleep but she usually wakes up around this time, follow me." Shizune said as she began walking back the way she'd come and Amaris followed.

Kakashi shrugged reopening his book and following his teammate.

*Tsunade POV*

Tsunade woke with a slight headache feeling the after effects of yesterday's liquor. She stood up and stretched before exiting the small room she occupied in the small two room apartment Tsunade thought a better place to stay while they remained in town than some hotel.

She walked right pass Shizune and the two silver haired tracker nin straight into the kitchen and began brewing some coffee.

In her sleepy haze she heard vioces that ran through her head but didn't register.

"Is she always like this in the morning?"

"Usually, especially when she's hungover. The lady isn't a morning person in the slightest."

"She looks like a zombie."

"Just give her a moment, she'll come to."

The voices went quiet again and Tsunade continued as she was putting the water for her coffee on the stove and grabbing some of the breakfast Shizune made for her earlier.

Ten minutes later after the sannin ate and took the first few sips of her coffee the life came back into her eyes and she finally took notice of the leaf shinobi from yesterday sitting at the small coffee table with her and Shizune who she barely noticed up until now.

"You guys don't know when to quit do you." Tsunade said making a statement rather than asking a question.

"We aren't here to try to convince you to come back to the leaf." Kakashi said sitting across from Shizune with his face in a book.

"Oh really? Well then to what end am I being paid this 'pleasurable' vist?" Tsunade asked lacing her voice with sarcasm at the end.

"I just wanted to thank you again for holding back on me and Yukushia. That last attack showed us just how much you'd been holding back, with power like that you could've probably ended us before the fight ever really began." Amaris said looking at Tsunade.

"Don't mention it, in all honesty it was great for helping me blow off a little steam. I don't think the old man would forgive me if I killed two of his shinobi anyway so I had my reasons." Tsunade said casually causing Amaris to smile.

"Ya know it's not necessary to make excuses. Deep down inside you really didn't want to kill us so you went easy on us with the intention of seeing if we were actually strong enough to survive, or strong willed enough to face an opponent we couldn't beat." The silver haired kunochi said with a smirk causing Shizune and Kakashi to sweat drop and look at Tsunade hoping she didn't want to prove the girl wrong.

To their surprise Tsunade developed a small smirk of her own.

"You're really good at reading people huh brat?"

"I try." Amaris replied her smirk turning into another smile.

"Why's your teammate always seem so cheery?" Shizune whispered to Kakashi.

"Beats me but honestly it weirds me out sometimes." The silver haired nin whispered back.

"So about Konoha, I take it you guys have a scroll for me?" Tsunade asked surprising everyone at the table.

"Uh yea, I have it right here." Kakashi said pulling out the scroll and handing it to the women.

Tsunade took a moment to read over it's contents before sighing and putting the scroll away.

"Reasons like this are why I never liked Kumo." Tsunade said frowning for the first time that morning.

"So you've had a change of mind about returning to the village?" Kakashi asked still hoping to complete the remaining mission objective.

Tsunade sighed again but heavily this time while rubbing her temples.

"If Kumo is threatening war then I suppose I have no choice at the moment, I couldn't just abandon the home Dan and Nawaka fought and died for with smiles on their faces."

"They both sound like great men to me and while their praises may not be sung throughout the village I agree with Amaris's statement, those who give their lives for the village are heroes." Kakashi said respectfully.

Tsunade smiled as she thought of the two fondly. Kakashi's words would've put a smile on either of their faces.

"Thank you for those kind words I'm sure Dan and Nawaka would've appreciated them greatly. I'd like to thank you too Amaris for your words yesterday, they made me realize Dan and Nawaka didn't die meaninglessly they died protecting everything that was ever precious to them."

"It was cowardly of me to run away from the village for so long and even more so to insult their sacrifice by acting as if it meant nothing. I would be honored to accompany you all back to Konoha and even more so to smack some sense into Kumo for threatening my home." She said balling her fist.

Kakashi and Amaris smiled and nodded at the woman happy that she'd had a change of heart and seemed to have her spark for thr village back.

"I'll go notify the others while you're getting ready to set out, be back in a few." Kakashi said exiting the small apartment and heading towards Jiriya's hotel first.

*Amaris's POV*

After Kakashi left Amaris turned to Tsunade and opened her mouth intent on asking her a little about her life.

"So what's up with you two, is that guy like your boyfriend or what?" Tsunade asked raising an eyebrow.

Amaris paused for a moment her mouth still hanging open.

"N-No! We're just comrades, and maybe friends." The suddenly shy silver haired kunochi replied averting her gaze from the blonde.

Tsunade eyed the girl critically for a moment before slamming her hands against the small coffee table causing Shizune and Amaris to jump.

"Bullshit! I saw the way you two were looking at each other after our battle yesterday!" Tsunade yelled outraged the young kunochi was lying to her without a reason about something she'd have to be a fool to miss.

"Nooo, I'm serious! It was just concern for a comrade, there's nothing going on between me and Kakashi!" Amaris firmly denied fustrating the sannin further.

Instead of yelling at the girl some more for denying the obvious Tsunade had an idea.

She stopped leaning forward and recrossed her arms adopting the calm demeanor she'd had earlier just before Kakashi left.

"Well then that's good I suppose. I was hoping to set my niece here up with someone once we got back to Konoha and that Kakashi seems to be the perfect candidate." Tsunade said glancing at Shizune at the same time as Amaris with a look that said don't dare say anything.

Amaris looked at the woman who appeared to be younger than her and took notice of the fact that she was attractive and she didn't object to Tsunade's suggestion of romantically pairing her with Kakashi.

Tsunade knew she had the girl when shortly after her false statement she started glaring daggers at Shizune.

Amaris turned back to Tsunade and the sannin felt a chill going down her spine at the threatening look she now had the pleasure of being on the receiving end of.

"He's mine." Amaris hissed at both women uncaring of the outcome.

Tsunade smirked feeling victorious.

"So you two are an item huh?" The sannin asked causing Amaris to stop glaring as she realized the sannin just played her.

"Well...no, I just fell for him during our first meeting and i've been trying to get closer to him ever since." Amaris said looking embarrassed.

"So what's the problem?" Tsunade asked folding her hands together and resting them under her chin.

"The only thing he seems to have an eye for is the next mission and that book he's been reading lately." Amaris answered.

"Some men are just like that until they reach a certain age and maturity. Don't worry he'll come around eventually." Tsunade said making an attempt at reassuring the girl.

"Oh I know he will, I don't plan on letting any other woman get near my mask kun." Amaris said smiling evilly sending another set of chills down the back of the sannin and her attendant.

*Fugaku's POV*

The Uchiha clan head sat in his office at the leaf police headquarters tending to the usual paperwork regarding the prison and it's inhabitants when he received a knock on his door.

"Come in." He said not bothering to look up from his paper work.

The door opened and Fugaku still hadn't bothered looking up from his paperwork expecting whatever person had something to report to the police force to begin speaking.

"Good morning Fugaku sama." A familiar female voice sounded from the office entrance.

"Hmm." Fugaku said looking up towards his visitor.

"You're Hizishio's granddaughter Hatsue right? What business do you have with the leaf police?" Fugaku asked the half Uchiha girl.

"I've come to report on an incident last night that was likely swept under the rug and went unnoticed by the leaf police." Hatsue said taking a deep breath in preperation of recalling yesterday nights events.

A few minutes later Fugaku sat with his chin resting atop his hands thinking of all that Hatsue had just told him.

"What did you tell Danzo of your decision?" The man asked finally looking up.

"That I would think about it, I haven't spoken with him since." She replied.

"Good...that is...very good, I thank you for bringing this to my attention you have done very well." Fugaku said pleased with the girl who the majority of the clan looked down on.

"T-Thank you Fugaku sama." Hatsue stammered not expecting to be praised for her actions.

"You're quite welcome, we've been trying to pin down Alfonz Jugo for suspected corruption and back alley dealings in Konoha but haven't had a sound bases to begin investigations into a man with his status and rank within the leaf. Too bad you did away with each of his men and along with them any real evidence, no doubt he'll be nervous in his dealings now but at least we now know our hunch about the man to be true."

"Glad to be of use sir." Hatsue said feeling her chest swell with pride that temporarily replaced the guilt she felt from yesterday.

"There is something more you could do to help me." Fugaku said moving to place a privacy seal on the door and moving back to his desk.

"Danzo Shimura is a man of great mystery who puts trust in no one. I believe him to be a potential danger to the foundation of the village, his beliefs in his own views can at times be too extreme. I'd like you to accept his offer for special training and keep a close eye on him and his organization and report to me if at all possible for you to glean any information." Fugaku said analizing her to see how she'd react to his request.

Much to his pleasure she kept her face completly neutral as she took a moment to ponder the request she knew she honestly couldn't reject seeing as her clan head he could just order her to do it rather than ask.

"It would be my honor Fugaku sama." She said looking determined.

"Excellent, seeing as you're already close to his daughters and he personally extended the offer towards you all you need do is accept and continue as you are. I will summon you once every month or so to recieve a report of things however if you learn anything you think would be of interest to me you are to report it to me immediatly."

"I understand." Hatsue said nodding.

"Good, I'd like to thank you for your service on behalf of the Uchiha. I'll be seeing you around." Fugaku said going back to his paper work.

"Right, thank you Fugaku sama." Hatsue said leaving the office almost giddy that finally someone in the clan didn't think she was useless and it happened to be the clan head of all people.

Fugaku sat at his desk fighting the urge to grin _. "Who would have thought Hizisho's granddaughter would not only confirm our suspicions of Jugo but would also be another pair of eyes for me to place on Danzo. I must remember to complement Nubutaka on Hatsue's speedy transformation into a useful kunochi."_ Fugaku thought now filling out a new piece of paper work, a warrant to search civilian council member Alfonz Jugo's home and place of business.

*Reader POV*

"Can you believe it Itachi? We both graduated two years early that's amazing!" Shisui said sounding beyond excited.

"We did both participate in a war Shisui." Itachi said sounding as uncaring as always as he stated the fact.

"Yea but at least the higher ups are acknowledging how awesome we are, graduating two years earlier than usual is an accomplishment I can be proud of." Shisui smirked.

"Shisue...Itachi?" A voice came from the front of the room.

"Yoo, sup Hamura. What brings you here during regular academy class hours?" Shisui asked looking at the boy curiously.

"I was told because of my skill and intelligence I'd be graduating the academy early with another group of talented shinobi, guess I should've know it'd be you guys." Hamura smirked walking into the room they were told to wait in for their jonin sensei.

"Turns out your brothers assumption that we'd be placed on the same team when we graduated wasn't that far off." Itachi said wondering who the jonin sensei for such a talented group of genin would be.

 _"Not only does Hamura know multiple A rank Justu already but so do me and Shisue. Between all three of us our unit tactics are already at the level of chunin, I don't see them giving Konoha's newest prodigies an average jonin sensei."_ Itachi thought mentally running through a list of all the jonin he knew he thought might end up being their new teacher and squad leader.

The classroom door opened interrupting Itachi's thoughts and Shisui and Hamura's conversation as a man walked in and addressed them all by their names before informing them they were to meet their new jonin sensei on the roof of the academy and handing them their head bands along with a congratulations.

The new genin made their way to the roof of the building where they were told they'd meet their Shinobi instructor. Much to the confusion of the genin when they reached the roof the jonin that was apparently their new sensei was asleep.

"Ahh geez, out of all the jonin sensei in the world we had to be lucky enough to be paired with a Nara" Shisui groaned.

"What's wrong with being paired with a Nara?" Their sensei asked turning over and looking at them curiously. "Ohhh aahh, nothing sensei! I was just saying how lucky we are to get paired with someone as awesome as a Nara!" Shisui said rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Mmhm save your lies for someone who doesn't have genius level intelligence kid. I know you're probably thinking 'we have a Nara sensei, we'll never get any good missions that require a lot of work where we may be in danger' but don't worry kid, lord third made me take you three as a genin squad because right now you're the most promising young ninja the village has. All of you are at least mid chunin level." The Nara stated as he sat up and folded his arms.

"I was practically born on a battle field, I'll make sure your minds are on pare with your skills and make sure all of you shape into the best shinobi this village has seen since the fourth. By the time I'm done with you you'll wish I was just the typical lazy Nara sensei you thought I was."

"I think I like you already sensei." Shisui smirked.

"Only because I haven't put you through hell yet. Now let's get to know each other before we get on to business. My name is Shikono Nara I like naps and clouds. I dislike noise and rain."

"My goals for the future...take more naps, now your turn." Team 8 quickly sweat dropped realizing their sensei besides his seriousness about training them carried the Nara clan curse of laziness through and through.

"Well guess I'll start." A now composed Shisui replied. "My name is Shisui Uchiha I like dango, training with my buddies here, long walks in the sun, and learning new techniques. I dislike vegetables and traitors to the village. My goal for the future is to one day be known throughout the elemental nations as one of the most feared shinobi in Konaha. The name Shisue Uchiha will make our enemies think twice before throwing a pebble at Konaha's walls." The Uchiha boy said smiling at the thought.

"Nice ambition, you keep growing like you are and I'm sure you'll reach that goal one day if u don't die beforehand." Shikono said causing Shisue to beamed at the complement.

Shikono pointed at Hamura signaling it was his turn.

"My name is Hamura Monogahi. I like trying new foods, sparing and hanging with Itachi and Shisui, walking around the village on moon lite nights, learning new justu and techniques and meeting new people although I haven't really meant a lot of people in Konaha. I dislike food that doesn't taste how it looks or smells. My goal for the future would be...finding a way to help those people in Konaha..or in the world who are less fortunate than me."

Shikono raised an eyebrow at this.

"That's a very noble ambition kid any specific reason for it?"

Hamura thought of Anko and the kids he'd meant in the slums who probably stole to provide their every meal and still barely got by.

"In my village everyone helps each other out, no one goes homeless or hungry but here in Konaha or out in the ninja world things are different...I'd just like to help the people that I can." Hamura said causing the younger Uchiha to see his teammate he thought to have an average shinobi mindset of just serving his village and growing stronger in a new light.

"I see." Came Shikono's reply.

"Keep on that path kid, it'll lead u to great things and you'll end up helping a lot of people with that attitude." Hamura smiled at his teachers words of encouragement.

"You're up Itachi." Shikono informed.

"Right. My name is Itachi Uchiha, my likes are spending time with my little brother Saskue, learning new justu and techniques, honing my shinobi skills and training with my friends. My dislikes include dango."

Shisui started pouting at this.

"Violence, failure, and war...My desire for the future would be to end the cycle of hatred and unite every man women and child from every nation under the banner of peace but seeing as that isn't attainable my goal is to serve Konaha to the best of my abilities until whatever death befalls me claims my life." Itachi finished.

Shikono paused and surveyed the group as if seeing them for the first time.

"Are you brats sure you're kids? Your goals don't sound like something a child would have said, I expected something like be Hokage or becoming a strong or legendary Shinobi sheese. I see the great shinobi in you brats already." Shikono sighed.

"Well you're all dismissed for now meet me at the Hokage tower tomorrow at seven am." Their sensei said disappearing in a flicker.

"I really can't believe this guy's we're on the same team, the Hokage himself acknowledges our strength and is getting some lazy war veteran to train us!" Shisui practically yelled in excitement

"I agree this is a rather fortunate turn of events I'm sure more than the Hokage acknowledges us. Perhaps we should increase our training routine to make sure their faith in us isn't misplaced." Itachi offered calm as usual.

"Come on Itachi Shisui's right this isn't something that happens everyday, let's go grab a bite or something then we can go train later." Hamura offered looking every bit as excited as Shisui.

"I don't see any harm in that. What do u two suggest we eat...Shisui don't say dangos." Itachi said causing Shisui to deflate and sag his shoulders.

"I know what's perfect guys." Hamura smirked.

"What?" Itachi asked feeling in the mood for something.

"Ichiraku's!" Shisui and Hamura yelled at Itachi simultaneously causing him to cover his ears and cast a low level genjustu on them in retaliation at having his ears blown out.

Laughter subsiding the boys headed to Ichiraku's all three of them with a headache and a smile and a leaf shinobi's headband.

*Nubutaka POV*

"So what do you think?" Inoichi asked Nubutaka curious as to how the clan head would react to his request.

"Honestly it does sound like a very beneficial agreement for both of us but sadly our clan isn't in the business of arranged marriages anymore. Not since the fall of Uzishio." Nubutaka answered back.

"What do the Uzumaki have to do with the Monogahi?" The mind reader asked raising an eyebrow.

"A lot more than people think." Nubutaka said smiling.

Inoichi pondered on another potential agreement that could get him what he wanted.

"Hmmm I think I have an idea for an agreement that might be mutually beneficial for our clans." Nubutaka said sitting up at his desk and folding his hands under his chin.

"I'm all ears." Inoichi said still intent on having his clan form some sort of relationship with the Monogahi in the hopes of attaining the legendary bloodline that would no doubt redefine the Yamanaka's battle prowress and capabilities for generations yet to come.

"In my clan library we have a few Yamanaka scrolls we stole from your clan early into the warring states era. Since moving to Konoha what I've seen of the Yamanaka seems to be entirely different from what I read about the clan during it's younger days."

"What exactly do you mean by that?" Inoichi asked curious as to where he was going.

"Back in the warring states era the Yamanaka's Justu and the clan itself were described as being devestatingly ruthless in battle wiping entire battle fields clean in the span of a few seconds which is why hardly anyone ever got into disputes over land or resources with them."

Inoichi wasn't surprised at this as when he was a boy his grandfather was constantly saying the clan was weak compared to how it once was.

"I don't know all the details but apparently somewhere along the way your clan lost a handful of it's Justu. I happen to have two copies of some old Yamanaka justu scrolls from the early warring states era I'll give to you on the condition the Yamanaka begin tending the flowers around the Monogahi and Uchiha componds."

Inoichi raised an eyebrow expecting something like a list of known Yamanaka Justu or his first borns hand in marriage.

"Why such a meanial request?" The blonde man asked knowing the Monogahi and the Uchiha perfectly capable of tending the fields near the eastern wall and around the componds by themselves.

"The majority of civilians in the village seem to fear the Uchiha and they aren't that well liked among some groups of shinobi either. The Yamanaka however are greatly adored by everyone, if your clan was to be seen more often around the Uchiha-"

"It'd make them seem more likeable or even trust worthy is what you're saying?" Inoichi finished for him.

"Exactly." Nubutaka said adopting a smile.

"If you don't mind me asking though, why do you stand up for the Uchiha so much when a year ago you hardly even knew them?" Inoichi said staring at the man curiously.

"When we arrived in Konoha the first thing we noticed was a beautiful village full of people who all could related to each other in one way or another but didn't treat each other as family."

"While this wasn't very surprising as we knew what to expect what did shock the majority of us who noticed was the way the Uchiha seemed to be personally removed from the rest of the village as if separate from the entirety of the entity that makes up Konoha."

"After a bit of prying at my first council meeting when discussing the placement of my compond I discovered that the Uchiha's isolation from the rest of the village wasn't self impossed and that the elder council seems to be ostracizing them for whatever reason I have yet to figure out." Nubutaka said as his eyes narrowed slightly and his expression became thoughtful.

"What kind of family man would I be if I sat back and watched the black sheep of my new village family suffer in silence with no one that understood their plight?" He said looking at his fellow clan head unaccusingly but in a way that made Inoichi aware of his failure all the same.

"I'm starting to understand why your father said you were the perfect choice for clan head even at your tender age. You have a wisdom beyond your years." Inoichi said adopting a thoughtful expression.

"Thanks for the compliment." Nubutaka smiled.

"You know, I always wondered about the scornful looks some of the Uchiha started directing the way of some of the members of other clans but I had no idea what it was about." Inoichi said coming to a realization.

"No wonder Fugaku stopped coming to Choza's annual barbecue's. None of his supposed colleagues or comrades said anything on behalf of the Uchiha we've all served alongside for so long." Inoichi said as he adopted a sadness to his demeanor.

The Yamanaka head was silent for a moment till he looked at Nubutaka with a passion that scarily reminded the young Monogahi of the leaf villages handsome blue devil, Might Gai.

"Thank you brother for opening my eyes. I swear to you the Yamanaka will do their best to make our Uchiha brothers and sisters once again feel welcome in Konoha!" Inoichi said standing and clasping the man's hand.

"No thanks are in order friend just buy me a drink later party man." Nubutaka smirked recalling how Inoichi was the life of the party in Darsula village.

"Oh now we're talking! I know this perfect bar on- Oh yeah buddy, hows about that scroll?" Inoichi smirked.

*Danzo's POV*

"So...I take it Hatsue Uchiha has told you of my proposal?" Danzo asked from the desk of his compond office.

"Yes she has and I'd like to accept your gracious offer." Anko replied standing across from the leaf elder.

"I must admit I'm surprised the girl isn't here with you right now, did she not bother giving you a rough summary on me?" Danzo replied eyeing the girl for any trace of fear.

"Oh no she didn't, instead she gave me a detailed biography and much to her distaste I insisted I attend this meeting alone." Anko said staring unwaveringly into the man's one eye which although usually closed seemed to be analyzing her with a close scrutiny.

"I commend you on your bravery girl. Why is it though you sit unwaveringly before me intent on accepting my training, for what reason?"

"Since I was born till the day I turned five and my mother was taken from me she always told me to be strong." Anko said her eyes hardening.

"You'd risk having your very mind and spirit broken for the soul purpose of being strong?" Danzo asked wondering exactly what all the details about the girls back story were.

"Yes it's what my mother wanted it's all I've got to live for." Anko answered seriously.

Danzo remained silent for a moment thinking over what she said as Anko sat patiently.

"I believe your ambition to be easily within my graps, but what would you say to fufilling not only the purpose your mother set before you, but also a similar purpose of greater magnetude?"

"What do you mean?"Anko asked curious.

"All in due time." Danzo inwardly chuckled glad the she showed no emotion or nervousness what so ever throughout the whole exchange.

"We will begin your training immedietly after you've rested yourself."

"Akilies here will show you around, I'll have the servants go and pick up some new clothes seeing as you probably only have that one outfit and it won't do to have a Shimura be seen wearing the same thing continuesly."

Anko nodded her consent as the big man known as Akilies stepped from the shadows.

"Lord Danzo, may I make a request?" Anko asked looking at the man with a lack of emotion he wished Imari and Inoha could emulate.

"What is it girl?"

*Nubutaka/Hatsue POV*

"I'm sorry."

Hatsue's said her admission catching him off guard.

"Sorry for what?" Nubutaka asked his pupil from behind one of the desk inside of the compond library.

"I feel like accepting someone else's training is insulting you in a way." Hatsue said looking guilty.

Nubutaka smiled at the kindhearted Uchiha woman who so far was exceeding even his expectations as a kunochi.

"No need to apologise, no doubt Danzo see's your potential and figures you'll make a great team leader for the girls."

The shy Uchiha beamed and Nubutaka found himself subconsciously admiring her smile.

"Thank you sensei, I will do my best to make you proud of my skills as a kunochi. If at all possible I'd still like to train under you whenever I can." Hatsue said hoping he wouldn't reject her now that she'd be receiving training from the very man he'd told her to be wary of.

Nubutaka smiled from behind his desk and wondered why Hatsue was so different from most Uchiha.

"Of course Hatsue, don't think you'll get away from me that easily. I won't interfere with your special training under Danzo but you're still my student and I'll come drag you out of that compond myself if I have to." Nubutaka said jokingly with some seriousness in his statement.

Hatsue's seemed to feel lighter as her sensei's comment made the guilt she felt about being trained by someone else, as well as the apprehension of training under a man like Danzo disappear.

"Thank you Nubutaka." Hatsue said smiling at the man who in a short time she'd come to trust and respect more than anyone in the village.

*Readers POV*

"I told you it's awesome right?" Jiriya smirked as he and Enu sat just outside of town waiting on the rest of their group who Kakashi's pug informed were on their way.

"I've honestly never read anything like it. Your characters are so life like and at certain times the book gets so descriptive it's like I'm actually in the world you're writing about watching the lives of the characters unfold with perfect clarity. This is an amazing piece of literature." Enu said making proud tears well in the sannins eyes.

"It's smut." Yukushia said frowning towards the toad sage who frowned back towards her.

"How dare you call this literary master piece-"

"It's smut." Yukushia repeated herself turning away from the man.

"I don't know why you read that stuff Enu, it's just going to corrupt your mind." Yukushia said looking to her Aburame teammate who looked between the two and just shrugged as if saying I'm not getting myself involved.

"If you think my book is smut I must apologise for your inability to recognize good literature." Jiriya said frowning at the hateful girl.

"Good literature? Are you kidding me? I skimmed through that thing in a book store back in Konoha and felt indecent for looking at pornography out in public." Yukushia said challenging the man with her gaze.

"Are you kidding me? Who the hell reads a book and only skims through it that's how you miss the best parts!" Jiriya said sounding absolutely indignified.

"People who're interested in more than just some flashy cover and an interesting first chapter." Yukushia said waving a copy of the book Jiriya didn't know she had.

"Ahahaa! So you admit it's a pretty interesting book!" Jiriya laughed victoriously.

"Noo, I said the first chapter is interesting the rest after that just seems to be smut."

"You aren't talking about that disgusting Icha Icha book are you?" A voice said from behind them causing the group to turn to see it belonged to Tsunade who was walking towards them with Amaris Kakashi and the girl named Shizune who was carrying a few bags.

"Not you too hime you can't honestly think it's disgusting?" Jiriya said deflated.

"I do, the first chapter looked pretty decent but afterwards the rest just goes to smut." Tsunade said looking at Jiriya.

The white haired sannin collapsed to his knee's looking defeated.

"Actually I'm nearly halfway through and I think the books pretty good." Kakashi said bringing the life back to Jiriya's eyes.

"You see that, my book can't be all that bad if these upstanding young shinobi like it." Jiriya said standing up and patting his chest as a symbol of not wanting to toot his own horn but doing it anyway.

"You're smuts probably corrupting them." Tsunade accused causing the man to deflat again.

"Maybe the book seems to be smut to most women because it's written from the point of view of a man who's traveling across the elemental nations looking for love."

The entire group turned towards Amaris as Jiriya looked up from his sulking as if finding a potential light in the dark.

"I haven't read it personally but mask kun let me read the summary on the cover." She said smirking at Kakashi who grew a tick mark at his new nick name.

Yukushia and Tsunade looked at the girl curiously, their eyes telling her to continue.

"The man while traveling the world looking for the one women he wants to spend the rest of his life with comes across various women of different nations, ages, shapes, sizes, and personalities in his quest. Having sexual relations of course because that comes with the territory which is why it's seen as smut."

"Most women can't get past the fact that throughout the entire book this man is having sexual relations with multiple females. Even if the writing is good what woman wants to read a book about a man sleeping with a tone of women. Naturally after just hearing a summary of the book they'd call it smut." Amaris said looking apolegetically towards Yukushia and Tsunade.

"If you make your second copy something similar but with a woman as your main character instead I'm sure your book sales would increase by tenfold among women and men would still buy it because they aren't as judgmental about sexually written content pertaining to the opposite gender." She finished.

For a moment all was silent and still till Jiriya grabbed Kakashi's shoulders.

"Marry her." The white haired sannin told the boy with all seriousness.

"WHAT?" Kakashi asked in shock.

"You heard me kid! She likes you, you like her! You two are still young! You'd be a fool not t-" Jiriya was cut off by a chop to the top of his head.

"Oowwww...did you have to hit me so hard hime." The man said holding his head looking at his fellow sannin who withdrew her hand.

"Yes I did, don't you know it's rude to mettle in other people's relationships." Tsunade said scolding her old teammate.

"It wasn't mettling it was sound advice! Geeze my head hurts now." Jiriya said getting up and walking away back in the direction towards Konoha with Tsunade walking beside him the two having a debate on what was considered rude or not.

Kakashi look at Amaris and found she was blushing and avoiding his eye which made him slightly nervous as well so he walked over and started chatting with Enu who was walking with Shizune a few feet behind the two sannin bickering in the front.

"Sometimes you're way too insightful about certain things you know that?" Yukushia asked her friend as they both began walking behind the rest of the group.

"It's probably just a trade off of having this silver hair. Wisdom beyond my years." Amaris answered wondering what'd come next after they returned to the village.

*Hiruzen POV*

Shikono rose from one of the shadows in the hokages private meeting room.

"Lord third." He said greeting the Hokage.

"It appears you have quite the interesting students this time around Shikono." Hiruzen said smiling letting the image of the three boys eating and joking with each other at Ichiraku ramen fade from the crystal ball.

"Indeed, seems these three have aspirations greater than that of most children among their age group." The Nara replied standing in front of the Hokage.

"I already expected as much from Itachi with him being Fugaku's son and all but hearing of the goals of the other two only reinforces my feeling that those three will be the next great shinobi unit produced by Konoha."

"What will our team number be sir?" Shikono asked Sarutobi fighting back a yawn.

"I was pondering that just before you got here. I think team twelve would suit your squad well enough." Hiruzen said knowing Shikono really wasn't the type to care either way.

The battle harden Nara just shrugged in an uncaring manner.

"As a formality I'd like them to complete a number of D rank missions before they begin going out on assignments better suited to their skill pallet."

"I figured as much, it'll give me an opportunity to catch up on some napping while their completing menial task for the villagers." Shikono said with a rare smile gracing his face.

*Hiashi's POV*

A knock at the door made Hiashi look up from his paper work.

"Come in." The Hyuga clan head said annoyed at the disturbance.

The door opened and in walked one of the Hyuga branch members quickly dropping into a bow.

"The elders request your presence in the garden Sir." Hiashi's pen stopped moving as he placed a hand on his forehead and sighed.

"I take it they didn't give you the reason behind this summoning did they?" Hiashi questioned.

"No sir, only that it was a matter of importance." The Hyuga clan head frowned knowing what the elders of the clan deemed important he usually held little to no concern for.

"Go, tell them I shall be with them shortly."

"Right away sir." The man said standing out of his bow and taking his leave from the office.

Hiashi sighed and sat his pen on the desk wondering why it seemed like the elders took pleasure in bothering him over frivolous matters.

Readying himself for another pointless clan meeting Hiashi stood up and headed towards the Hyuga clans indoor gardens.

*Tsunade POV*

Tsunade and her group were currently walking instead of sprinting through the trees since they had plenty of time to make it back to Konoha before their deadline.

She'd been walking at the head of the group for about two hours now catching up with her fellow sannin and actually having a few laughs as they recalled the old days.

After her conversation with the white haired toad sage transitioned into a comfortable silence she slowed her pace until she ended up at the back of the group with the two young women she was curious about.

"That emblem you two wear, what is it exactly?" She asked feeling like she'd seen it before.

Yukushia and Amaris glanced at their blood filled diamonds verifying that it was their clans crest that she spoke of.

"This is the Monogahi clans emblem." Yukushia answered.

"No way, you two are a part of the same Monogahi clan that once had half the ninja world at their throats?" Tsunade asked making sure she heard the women right.

"Yup, the diamond is symbolic of beauty, strength, endurance and value. While the drops of blood inside are symbolic of unity, purity, and life." Amaris supplied.

"There's a bit more to it than that but we really don't wanna bore you with the details." Yukushia added.

"So it's true your clan has resurfaced and joined Konoha?" The sannin asked.

"Sort of but I think it'd be best for lord third to explain the details of how we joined the village." Yukushia answered.

Tsunade wasn't at all bothered by her reply seeing as Hiruzen could probably explain it better and she had more questions anyway.

"So what was that weird form of wood style you used yesterday?" Tsunade asked a question she'd been wondering about for a while now.

"It wasn't wood style it's just a kekkei genki of similar quality. It's called nature style and although I can cause trees to grow I can't control the wood at all. This kekkei genki involves influencing plant life and is better for defense, support, espionage, and assassination." Yukushia answered proudly.

"Assassination?" Tsunade questioned.

"Thanks to nature styles capacity to control plants being able to use the style gives you access to a wide rang of substances ranging from airborne posion spores to highly toxic liquids and even flammable gases depending on the plant. I can even create new species of plant life to serve specific purposes, just takes a bit of time and know how."

"That sounds amazing...Did you inherit your ability from your parents or is it something that was taught to you?" Tsunade asked curious.

"I got it from my father's side of the family. It's one of the rarer kekkei genki among the village."

"It's similar to wood style as it involves using earth and water as the building blocks for its Justu but that's where what makes them different comes into play."

"Wood style takes massive amounts of chakra and perfect control because the user needs to convert chakra into the life force necessary to give life to the wood they create while also molding earth and water chakra to fuel and control the Justu."

"Nature style takes perfect control and a strong affinity for yang release because the user either feeds the nature around us yang chakra in exchange for favors or molds earth and water chakra to form our own nature using yang chakra to give life instead of life force."

"The up side of using Yang chakra besides creating a new affinity with different uses was that it takes much less of the chakra necessary than that required to create life force."

"Wood style can bring wood to life in a myriad of impossible ways, naturally wood is only meant to grow in the form of trees and it is the sunlight which gives them their life force."

"Since sunlight is what naturally grows all types of trees and vegetation we nature style users can only grow them in their natural form but that's the reason the chakra we exirt isn't nearly as much as is required for wood style."

"My family has had a strong affinity for yang chakra for a long time but we hardly found use for it in battle, one day a grandfather of mine a few generations back was struck with an idea that later became an obsession."

"While sitting in the gardens he realized that sunlight by itself couldn't serve many battle field capabilities but with the help of earth and water it could create life."

"He became obsessed with using yang chakra to create his own version of wood style and that was the birth of nature style." Yukushia finished.

"That's sounds like quite the accomplishment. I take it since then your family has been nature style users?" Tsunade asked.

"Pretty much, we became so use to using earth and water chakra in combination with our yang chakra nature style became a natural kekkei genki those of my family are now born with."

"So essentially your distant grandfather created his own family kekkei genki." Tsunade said sounding impressed.

"Yup, one no one outside of our family has been able to replicate." Yukushia said proudly.

"What about you Amaris, how'd you become so talented with lightning release?" Tsunade asked turning her attention towards the other Monogahi.

"Both my parents have strong affinities for water style and my mother is also an adept wind style user while my father preferred lightning. He taught me lightning style Justu are one of the best because of their power and flexibility."

"Naturally I have a strong affinity for lightning wind and water style which I use to form my fathers natural kekkei genki I'm not so good at yet the famous storm style of the land of lightning."

"My primary affinity I prefer not to use though." Amaris said sounding bored with the conversation.

"Primary affinity?" Tsunade asked curious as to what she meant.

"Primary affinity meaning what I'm naturally closest to besides my elemental affinities.

"Monogahi have elemental affinities of course like everyone else but some of us also have a strong affinity for something else like Yukushia's nature style which is her primary affinity."

"There are two types of Monogahi." Yukushia commented. "You have the elemental purebloods and the evolved blood keepers." Amaris continued.

"The elemental purebloods are those of us with darker hair, they're called elemental purebloods because thanks to their unchanged physiology, they usually have a strong affinity for all the elements and are capable of creating their own kekkei genki using them."

"The purebloods also have an easier time awakening the bloodlines of other clans that lie dormant within the Monogahi people." Yukushia added taking over.

"They tend to have deep chakra reserves and are like tactical sledge hammers when it comes to battle. If you aren't made of hard stuff they'll eventually break you down with overwhelming force that they'll apply to all the right places." The nature style user finished.

"The blood keepers are those of us with lighter hair, we're called blood keepers because unlike the purebloods our primary affinities are way stronger than our elemental one's and we tend to unlock the rarer or the more unique bloodlines and kekkei genki. We never have the need to awaken a primary affinity either since the use of a specific set of abilities for generations upon generations is usually what creates us and one will always be open to us from a young age." Amaris said picking up the conversation.

"My parents were both blood keepers as were their parents and so on. My lightning and water style I get from my fathers side of the family who where all originally purebloods till they started focusing heavily on the use of lightning and water style to utilize storm style over anything else."

"Eventually storm style became a part of us causing us to lose our affinity for the elements not involving it but making storm style itself as well as it's elements of creation second nature to us and noticably stronger than in others."

"My mother's side of the family have been blood keepers since an elder of hers married a woman who was exiled from the Hozuki clan for having a child by a member of a hostile clan. Her son eventually married someone in the family as well and he's where my mothers side gets their affinity for Ice style."

"When a blood keeper has a child if the other parent isn't a pureblood usually the child will also be a keeper."

"Me and Yukushia are blood keepers of course but I tend to only use my elemental affinities." Amaris said gaining a far off look in her eye.

"What is your primary affinity?" Tsunade asked expecting it to be blizzard release since the girl mentioned she had to recreate storm release and wasn't so good at it.

"It doesn't have a name, it's a mix of storm and blizzard style. Since I'm the only person to ever have this style there isn't anything I can really tell you about it besides the fact that I don't use it." Amaris said her eyes growing cold as she spoke.

Tsunade took the hint and decided to change the subject.

"So what's up with the black streak in your hair?" Tsunade said looking to Yukushia.

"My mother was a pureblooded elemental and oddly I have an awakened piece of her pureblood genetics, I can tap into other bloodlines easier than most blood keepers, I also can use wind style." The kunochi answered.

"But wouldn't normally the original traits of the gene remain predominant over a mutation? No offense." Tsunade asked quickly covering not wanting to offend the young kunochi.

Yukushia smiled as if amused and delighted by Tsunade's comment.

"Oh but that's the interesting thing. A keeper is born through years of purebloods focusing on certain rare abilities till their childrens genes over generations actually start changing to accommodate those exact abilities."

"Or when a pureblood produces offspring with someone of a different gene pool and it brings out different genetics and creates a keeper in their children."

"But much like how keepers are with purebloods, purebloods are also born when a blood keeper produces offspring with someone from a different gene pool."

"Blood Keepers are just a physically altered version of pureblooded elementals, niether of the genes easily overpower the other and both can easily give birth to the other."

"We call them pureblooded elementals knowing their blood is exactly the same as ours because they remain the same as the Monogahi were originally."

"Though as evolved keepers our blood is exactly the same as before our genes have evolved to better suit some of our taste, and as such we bring new things to the clan." Yukushia finished.

"As an example our clan head back in Konoha is a keeper who was born to two purebloods. His grandfather on his mothers side was a keeper who married and had a child with a civilian woman. Although a keeper who's wife was a woman of common blood his daughter was still born a pureblood which isn't really that uncommon for keepers who aren't conceiving with another keeper or another shinobi."

"The capacity blood keepers have for concieving purebloods says pretty clearly that the blood in their viens is just as pure as that of the purebloods, and that we also still carry the original Monogahi genes."

"That's why among the clan evolved blood keepers are considered just as pure as the elemental purebloods. The only thing that really changes is our bodies and our chakra coils." Amaris finished.

"Wow." Was Tsunade's response.

*Reader POV*

"Yes." A woman in servants clothes said answering the door of the luxurious villa that was owned by one of the Konoha civilian council members.

"We have a warrent to search this villa for evidence of corrupted dealings throughout the village." One of the Uchiha men said showing the woman the paper signed by Fugaku Uchiha.

"Alfonz sama isn't in right now but-"

"This will just take a moment." One of the Uchiha said pushing past the woman sharingan already activate as he began scanning the villa for any signs of what Fugaku told the men to look for.

 **Authors notes**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter the first time skip is coming soon right after the next chapter which'll probably be a short one covering the events of this one. Sorry about the jib about women being more judgemental of sexually written content pertaining to the opposite gender I don't really believe that Ik it's all about the person.**

 **Also I know I promised you guys Naruto in chapter six or seven but I'll have to bring him in at chapter eight since the time skip will take place after next chapter I wanna make sure it's not forced or anything and before it happens people get a good idea of what's going on. Sorry guys**

 **Next chapter**

 **I'll cover Kakashi's groups return to Konoha, Anko's new life, Hatsue's new role, Inoichi's agreement with Nubutaka, Fugaku's suspicion of Alfonz (who will play a minor role), team twelves beginning, and Hiashi will have an interesting talk with the Hyuga elders.**

 **Fun fact #19**

I do this on a smartphone, it's convenient but sometimes it can be a pain. Admittedly it helps me when I'm bored plus I love seeing how many people actually enjoy the story I really enjoy writing it and wish I had more time for it.


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry it takes me so long to upload. I'm gonna try something different this chapter and write in the third person all the way through let me know if you guys like it and I may try it again. I've also got something really special planned for Naruto and Hinata although like I said we won't see Naruto take a prominent role in the story until next chapter so don't get too excited. I'm still getting comments about how OP the Monogahi are people obviously aren't reading these authors notes or paying attention like they should be.** **To the few readers who do nothing but whine about the Monogahi I do appreciate you reading reviewing and sending me pms but if it's really that offensive to you go read some other fanfic. To ask me to change the strength of my OC's is to ask me to just throw the last six chapters away and start from scratch which I'll pass on.**

 **If you really don't like the story because the characters I created are just as strong as I want them to be then go read something else I'm tired of hearing the same thing. Go write a better story if it hurts you so much.**

 **Guest001-The way u voiced your opinion was totally uncalled for I'd actually prefer you didn't read this fic. You strike me as one of those miserable ppl with a sad life who likes to bring other people down, I'd say more but I'd rather not offend my readers with choice words so just do me a favor and pretend like this fanfic doesn't exist thanks.**

 **Hope you guys will enjoy this chapter please read and review.**

Hiashi stepped into the Hyuga gardens and noticed all the Hyuga elders gathered around looking towards the entrance no doubt awaiting his arrival.

The clan head walked into the gardens and sat on a loan squatting pillow placed at the head of the circle.

"So nice of you to join us, Lord Hiashi. No doubt you're curious as to why we've called for a meeting on such short notice."

Hiashi nodded curtly to the man wishing him to get to the point so he could get back to his office.

"It has come to our attention that the Uchiha have been getting unusually close to the Monogahi as of late."

Hiashi almost raised an eyebrow at this.

"Yes?" Hiashi acknowledged questioning the man at the same time.

"We cannot allow the Uchiha to gain access to the Monogahi bloodline if we are not permitted the same." Another elder said seriously.

"Have all attempts to form a marriage agreement with the clan failed?" An elder sitting next to the first questioned.

"Yes, unfortunately the Monogahi are no longer in the business of arranged marriages." Hiashi answered.

"This is unacceptable. With the way the Monogahi and the Uchiha are seen to be getting closer and closer it'd be in our best interest to ensure our clan has equal if not better relations with the bearers of such a valuable bloodline." Another elder stated.

"If the one of the Uchiha marries into the Monogahi or vice versa surely in generations to come our Uchiha rivals will have finally gotten an edge over us." An elder in the back said stating the obvious.

"Hiashi inwardly sighed before replying.

"What is it you would suggest I do to ensure better relations with the clan than the Uchiha already have?"

The room was silent for a moment as everyone besides Hiashi looked for a reply.

"I recommend affording him a student just as the Uchiha have with that Hatsue girl. The Monogahi appear to be a very welcoming bunch who develop strong bonds easily with others." The only elder Hiashi was actually fond of supplied.

"He thought it over for a moment before conceding that the man's suggestion was definitely a good one he was surprised he'd never thought of.

"Your suggestion sounds like a good one but we can't have it be a Hyuga girl around his age. It'd be too obvious to anyone what our intentions would be behind that." Hiashi said knowing the young clan head himself would immediately see their intentions.

"The man nodded with the rest of the elders as they took a moment to consider the best choice of action regarding the situation.

"As long as whoever we send can ensure close relations with the clan in the near future then there really won't be a need to seduce the clan head himself as Hyuga women are undoubtedly the most beautiful in all of Konoha. Eventually one of the Monogahi men will fall for some woman of our clan and in exchange for her hand in marriage we will ask that the children of the two be members of the Hyuga giving us control over them and the bloodlines they'll possess." The man said again earning nods of agreement from the elders who usually didn't agree on much.

"That not only sounds acceptable but it sounds like a plan that just might work as we hope it to. Who would you suggest we send to learn from the man?" Hiashi asked.

"Well of course we couldn't just send him anyone as the Hyuga requesting training from anyone is entirely unheard of, having a Hyuga of status around the Monogahi will make it appear to the rest of Konoha that we're actually closer to them than we really are." The man said developing a thoughtful look.

"If I may." The Hyuga branch director spoke requesting to be heard.

"You may speak brother." Hiashi gave permission to the only branch member allowed to attend important Hyuga council meetings.

"I recommend sending my son Neji to train with the Monogahi till lady Hinata becomes of age to begin her shinobi training and is well versed enough in the gentle fist and the ways of our clan. Neji is picking up on the gentle fist faster than is common amoung the Hyuga, we will request he be trained by the Monogahi as a way to see what a Hyuga who is trained in other area's of combat besides the gentle fist can do. Eventually after the noticeable amount of progress Neji is sure to make we will request the lady be trained there as well which will inadvertently make our clans grow closer to one another and make us seem more open to the Monogahi." Hizashi offered.

Mummers of low conversation between the elders could be heard through the garden as the elders considered Hizashi's suggestion.

Hiashi looked at his brother and sent him a quick nod of approval once again grateful for the thirds decision not to give into Kumo's demands as Hizashi had recommend he be executed in place of his older brother which would've tore the man's heart in two.

"That actually isn't a bad idea perhaps lord Hiashi's daughter will draw the eye of one of the Monogahi when the time comes." An elder said from across the garden.

"Indeed, having a young and talented Hyuga as well as the clan heads daughter among them will surely strengthen ties with the clan. It is highly possible one of the two will draw the eyes of someone." Another elder added.

Hiashi looked around the room ensuring no one had a reason to disagree with the suggested plan and nodded.

"Well then it's settled. I will have one of our branch members deliver a letter to their compond requesting shinobi training for young Neji." Hiashi said standing and heading back towards his office with his brother at his side as they discussed young Neji.

 **Two** **days later**

In a place hidden just outside the village Anko stood in a field panting hard as she struggled to stay on her feet.

"I expected you to do better than this." Danzo said sounding disappointed.

"Again." He commanded and the ruthless NEE opperative charged the poor young Anko.

She planted her feet and put up her right arm using her left as support to keep the strong swing from making her block ineffective. The man threw a right as a follow up making Anko duck to avoid it but she quickly had all wind knocked out of her as not a moment after she dodged the quick right the man kicked her hard in the stomach pushing her off the ground and back a foot or so.

"And you wanted to be strong? This pathetic preformance of yours says otherwise, perhaps you aren't worthy of my offer like I originally thought." Danzo said from his position above the two.

Anko frowned balling her first in the dirt and forcing herself to her feet as she ignored the pain in her stomach and the protest of her body and quickly charged the man with a battle cry.

The NEE opperative watched the girl approach and waited for her to swing but when she got within striking distance she quickly threw dirt in his eyes. Pleasing Danzo again with her instinctual use of deception.

The man being a trained NEE opperative didn't even flinch and hardly blinked as he kicked the girl in the chest harder than he did when he kicked her in the stomach taking her off her feet again and sending her skidding through the dirt.

Anko started coughing hard and pushed herself to her knees as she struggled to find her breath glaring daggers at the man in between coughs and weezes for air.

She forced herself to stand again her legs visibly trembling as her body begged for rest and salvation from the constant pain she'd been enduring the past two days since she began training under the man.

"Your turn, come get me bastard!" She yelled taking up a sloppy form of the defensive stance she saw the man using whenever she charged him.

He was about comply and started to rush the girl when Danzo signaled for him to stop.

"Well done Anko, you do indeed have the conviction I was hoping to see from you. I think we can begin your real training now, 122 here will begin your instruction by teaching you the standard NEE taijustu repertoire." Danzo said pleased with the girl.

"Once she has learned the basics of at least one of our taijustu styles she may rest for the day. You are to see that she makes it back to my compond safely." Danzo ordered as he turned and began walking back towards the village.

"Yes sir lord Danzo." NEE operative 122 said bowing then turning back to Anko ready to get her started on her training.

"Around fifteen minutes later Danzo stepped into his office at his main NEE headquarters inside the village.

He looked at the Uchiha who stood before him waiting for her first assignment as a temporary NEE opperative.

Just as a formality and out of curiosity he decided to test her.

"Young Anko has a surprisingly high tolerance for pain and abuse."

Hatsue didn't flinch as he expected her to and her face stayed impassive but he did catch the subtle movement of her fist nearly clenching at her side.

"It's to be expected from an orphan girl who was abused by her mothers handlers sir." Hatsue said in a voice void of emotion.

"I'm curious if the lack of emotion this girl can display is an effect of her Uchiha heritage or the Monogahi's training." Danzo thought.

"Yes surely it is but I wonder how she will respond to the phycological torture." Danzo said calmly this time getting a more noticeable response as Hatsue's lip slightly twitched and her mask of detachment nearly slipped from her features at the mention of the young girl being tortured.

She said nothing just stared at Danzo impassively waiting for her first assignment or a briefing on how she would be trained.

 _"If only Imari and Inoha were as good at remaining impassive as these two. She's obviously attached to the girl but she knows even if I was torturing her there's nothing she could do about it, Imari and Inoha however might have sheed a tear at the mention of their new friend being tortured even if they had managed to keep their composure."_

"Do you regret telling the girl of my offer Uchiha?" He questioned curious as to what she felt about the girl now being one of his tools.

"No." She answered firmly and honestly.

Danzo nodded liking the way she easily answered the question.

"I am aware that you went to go speak to the leafs police force before accepting my offer." Danzo said opening his eye to fully observe the girl.

 _"I expected you to be."_ Hatsue thought knowing Danzo to be a very cautious man who valued information over anything.

She remained quiet and impassive waiting for him to continue as he leaned back in his chair.

"So I take it you informed them of the events of two nights ago?"

"Yes sir I did." She answered back calmly.

"And what exactly was your reason for this if you were intent on accepting my training anyway." He asked curious as to her motivations.

"I felt as if I needed to be punished for the murder of three civilians, even if those civilians happen to be scum I had no right to kill them." She answered.

"And you don't still feel this way?"

"No, after going home and thinking about it yesterday, I saved the girls even if I got a bit carried away, that's all that matters." She said partially lying to herself just as much as she was him, her facial expression unchanged.

"And the police forces response to this?" He asked curious to how Fugaku took his cover up.

"They believe I did the right thing riding Konoha of that scum and better for your opperatives to have took care of the scene since the men were likely after your daughters... I augmented the details of what happened a bit as not to raise more questions."

If Danzo could tell she was lying he didn't address it, he remained silent for a moment and continued to observe her as Hatsue struggle not to flinch under the man's cold and analytical gaze.

"What does your sensei think of you accepting my offer for training?" He asked actually sounding curious.

"He says that it's acceptable, he told me to be wary of you of course and that he was proud I was able to gain recognition from such a prominent shinobi even if you're technically retired."

"You didn't explain to him the details of what happened on that night?" Danzo questioned.

"No."

"And why did you neglect telling him that part of the story?"

"I didn't want him to be disappointed in me." Hatsue said a sliver of emotion creeping into her voice.

Danzo noted that she seemed to care for the man on a deeper level than one would a teacher and filed that bit of information away in case it might later prove useful.

"Well then now that the questions are out of the way we can get started on what you came here for. You won't be undergoing normal training but instead I shall be assigning you on missions with my NEE opperatives where you will observe and learn from your squad leaders. You will be given an Anbu mask as well as a NEE opperatives uniform both of which you are to never remove during your time with my organization."

"You shall have free time on the weekends and be allowed to go home but for the rest of the time during the week for the next two years you belong to NEE. You aren't to question orders no matter what, you aren't to speak at all unless spoken to, I expect nothing short of unwavering loyalty and compliance for the next three years you are to train under me inside this organization. Is that clear?" Danzo asked looking at the girl coldly.

"Yes sir I understand." Hatsue said hardening herself and trying to erase the small trace of fear she felt.

"Good...86, show Hatsue here around the NEE headquarters and be sure to show her what else we expect here. From now on Uchiha you will be referred to as 292, you will undergo your first official mission tomorrow be sure to abandon your emotion before hand." Danzo said as NEE opperative number 86 stepped forward and lead her outside of the office following his orders ready to assist number 292 in getting acquainted with what would be her new life for the next three years.

 **Just outside Konoha**

Three fresh new shinobi stood back to back on one of Konoha's many training fields waiting for an attack they knew was sure to come.

Three kunai flew from one of the many trees around the area which Shisui knocked out of the air with a pair of his own kunai.

"This is no fun if I can't get you three to split up." The voice of Shikono Nara said seemingly coming from all directions around them.

"If we did that you'd just pick us off one by one like you did yesterday." Itachi said keeping his eyes peeled and peering into the tree's with his sharingan.

"But you learned from it didn't you?" Came their sensei's reply.

"Of course we did, we learned not to let you split us up like you did yesterday." He said surveying the area with crimson eyes same as Itachi.

Shikono smirked from his hiding spot in the tree's.

"Well that's good, the most important thing when facing an enemy who is stronger than you are is that when working as a unit you work together and make sure you don't let them split you up, buut..." Shikono trailed off as his genin wondered why he'd stopped talking.

They had their answer when three fire balls came flying from different directions towards them.

"Earth style: Mud wall!" Hamura slammed his hands into the ground.

"Water style: Water bullet!" Shisue spewed a giant blast of water.

"Shadow clone Justu!" Itachi created a shadow clone and flung it with all his might towards the fireball approaching from his direction.

"A fireball slammed into Hamura's rock wall but wasn't able to get through creating a burst of smoke and hot wind on impact.

"Shisue's water bullet slammed into his fireball vaporizing them both and creating a good amount of hot steam and wind.

Itachi lifted his right hand forming the seal of confrontation and overloading his clone with too much chakra causing it to explode right before it came in contact with the fireball dispersing the large ball of flame and causing small shrouds of fire to fall around them.

"Woah Itachi, that was ingenious." Hamura said actually kind of jealous he'd never thought of using the justu like that.

"Thanks." Itachi said gaining a small smile.

 _"That justu is more useful than I originally assumed."_ Itachi thought seeing more capabilities for the dangerous justu Shisui and Hamura liked to fool around with.

"Indeed that was a very impressive display, although sometimes improvising at the last minute can be dangerous. I'd recommend you add a couple of water style justu to your arsenal as a solid way to counter fire style." Shikono said still in hiding.

Itachi nodded knowing more than likely his sensei saw them.

 _"Troublesome brats refuse to be split up."_ Shikono thought sighing heavily. And here I was hoping our morning sparing session would be over quickly so I could get to my afternoon nap."He leapt out of the tree he'd been hiding in leaving his shadow clones in place as he came to stand a short distance away from the genin.

"Come at me." He said with one hand in his pocket looking bored.

"Not while your shadow clones are hiding somewhere waiting for a chance to launch an ambuse." Hamura said trying to keep his eyes on his sensei and the tree's all around them.

Shikono raised an eyebrow.

"How'd you know about the shadow clones?"

Shisui scoffed.

"Only the fourth Hokage could attack from three different angles at the same time without using shadow clones."

"You never know I just may be the guys second coming or something." Shikono said fighing a yawn and stretching lazily.

"Somehow I highly doubt that with your work ethic sensei." Itachi said staring at the man's reflection in his kunai's as he kept most of his attention on the tree's knowing his comrades would react quickly if the man moved to attack since they were closer.

Shikono smiled slyly at his students.

"A shinobi's greatest tool is deception though am I right." He said removing a smoke bomb from his pouch.

The genin tensed knowing he'd throw the smoke bomb at them and then launch his ambuse but much to their surprise he tied the thing to the shinobi head band on his arm where most Nara kept there's and sat down on the forest floor turning his back to the three shocked young figures.

"What are you-"

"I'm tired and getting you three to split up is becoming a pain without using my yin release. I'm going to take a nap while you three try to set off this smoke bomb on my arm or take down one of my clones, do that and you'll pass this test." He said putting in some ear plugs then using his arm as a pillow as he shifted on the ground seemingly getting comfortable.

"You've got to be kidding me." Shisui said looking mildly irritated.

Hamura chuckled.

"At least you can say our sensei is one of a kind." He said with a smirk.

"Oh yeah he's something alright." Shisui said throwing a kunai at the man's headband which was quickly knocked out of the air by another Kunai.

One of their sensei's clones fell from the tree's landing between the boys and their now snoring teacher looking rather irritated himself as he spared the original a rueful glance.

"Bastard gets to have a coozy little nap while we're stuck doing all the work." He said referring to himself and the other clone which still remained hidden.

He turned back around looking at the boys with a bored and disinterested expression.

"I wish you kids luck with taking me out, I'd rather be sleeping right now too." He said digging in his ear as he stared off into space.

"Come on let's get this over with." He said finishing and eyeing them lazily.

"With pleasure." Shisui said breaking formation and charging the clone.

Hamura and Itachi instinctively followed knowing their sensei's clone would be no push over.

Shisui flickered behind the clone getting within striking distance of the original but found himself paralyzed as soon as he raised his kunai.

He looked down and saw a shadow connected to his and then a foot coming his way planting itself in his stomach.

He flew back a couple of feet but caught himself before he hit the ground.

"No fair you said you wouldn't use yin release!" Shisui grunted clearly frustrated.

"No I didn't." The clone replied casually.

"But you did! You're a shadow clone so I know you have all of sensei's memories!" Shisui said as he stood holding his ribs and glaring at the clone.

"Exactly, I'm a shadow clone so I didn't tell you anything he did." The clone said pointing at their sensei.

"Oh so that's how it's gonna be?" Shisui asked scowling.

"I guess so." The clone said with a smirk.

"Fine by me." Shisui said looking at Hamura and Itachi who came to stand beside him.

"I don't suppose either of you have a plan for taking down this cheater or hitting the smoke bomb?"

"Hey now, no such thing as cheating in our profession, you either win or you lose." The clone said smirk still in place.

The genin ignored his comment as Itachi gave a nod.

"There's no way we'll be able to take down one of his clones considering the fact that even if they are just shadow clones their clones of a jounin."

His teammates gave a nod indicating they were following and agreed with what he was saying.

"I have a plan but the clone that's still out here hiding somewhere is an unchecked variable." The Uchiha said gazing at their adversary.

""So what's the plan?" Shisui asked itching for revenge.

"Just distract him for me and we'll see if this works."

Hamura and Shisui nodded and both pulled a out kunai.

"I take point you support me?" Hamura asked.

"Sure lets go for it." Shisui said his facing morphing into a mask of focus.

"Right!" Hamura said as he charged the clone with Shisui close on his heals.

Hamura swung his kunai at the clone which was lazily dodged just as he expected, he quickly turned bringing his right foot in for a round house.

Shikono easily keeping up with the genins fair speed grabbed the boys leg with his right hand and raised his left blocking a strong kick from Shisui who'd flickered behind him.

 _"His accuracy with the flicker is more impressive than it was yesterday, I thought it was a fluke but it appears he really can control where he appears and it seems he's getting faster."_ The clone observed.

He swung around flinging Hamura into Shisui and Shisui burst into smoke, he felt slight movement under his feet and jumped away from where he'd been standing as a pair of hands rose from the ground.

As he landed the wind blew sending a number of leaves falling which blocked his vision but wasn't much of problem as he'd fought in plenty of situations with hindered visibility.

He heard foot steps behind him and turned using his shadow to immobilize the attacker but quickly jumped away breaking the justu when he heard the tell tale whistle of shurieken approaching.

 _"What the hell is with all this wind blowing these leaves?"_ He thought hoping the other clone would guard the smoke bomb on the original while his sight was hindered.

True enough every kunai Itachi threw at the smoke bomb on Shikono's arm was blocked by kunai which were thrown from the tree's around them.

 _"I don't have much time left till he realizes he's in a genjustu, it's now or never."_ Itachi thought abandoning the kunai tactic and charging towards their sleeping sensei.

Meanwhile Hamura and Shisui were keeping the pressure on the clone who was getting irritated at the amount of leaves that were constantly blocking his vision.

 _"Genjutsu."_ The clone realized pulsing his chakra.

He blocked a kunai thrown by Shisui and kicked the young Hamura off the large tree branch he'd been perched on with him. Not even a second later he heard the displacement of air beside him and turned instinctively blocking a kunai swing by the young spikey haired Uchiha.

Before he could launch a counter attack the smell of fire hit his nose and Shisui used the distraction to grabbed his arms.

 _"Troublesome."_ Shikono's clone thought as the Shisui clone smirked and he now knew the fire to simply be a diversion.

The branch both of the clones were standing of was blown to smithereens as Shisui overloaded it with chakra looking to the cloud of smoke curious as to whether or not he'd taken down the clone.

Meanwhile Itachi stopped in front of the sleeping form of their sensei wondering if he'd really seen what he just saw.

As soon as he neared the sleeping form of their sensei he'd seen the shadow he cast darken and moved ever so slightly that if he didn't have the sharingan he'd have missed it.

He took out another kunai knowing the clone in the tree's wouldn't be able to block it with it's own projectile considering he was way closer now.

He hurled the kunai at the smoke bomb and a tendril of shadow rose from the ground knocking the kunai away and receding back to its regular form.

 _"How is it possible for him to do that in his sleep?"_ Itachi wondered as Shikono's other clone who was sitting in a tree watching Itachi with his hands forming the rat seal smirked.

" _If it was that easy I wouldn't be a jounin now would I kid?"_ He thought knowing it'd be a while until the fresh new genin were able to pass this test.

 **Back in Konoha**

A council meeting was called, one man paced the room as both councils waited for the man to get his thoughts together and begin speaking on what he called them there for.

"So..." Nubutaka said stopping and eyeing both sides of the room but the shinobi side in particular.

"The academies requirement for graduation is completing the written exam and being able to preform two of the simplest justu ever created?" He questioned actually looking frustrated for the second time they'd meant him.

"If you're referring to the clone and the transformation justu then you are correct." Said one of the academies instructors all of whom were called in for the meeting.

"So let me make sure I understand this, the majority of unclan affiliated genin who graduate the academy usually only know two of the simplest justu both of which hardly have any real battle field applications, the academies taijustu style which I actually have no complaints about, and basic shinobi knowledge they can easily learn in a few months or so under their sensei?" Nubutaka asked raising an eyebrow.

"Yes bu-"

"Sshhhh." Nubutaka shushed the man who'd been in charge of the academies curriculum before him.

"You don't even talk to me." He said not even sparing the man a glance.

"That is correct." One of the instructors answered after a moment.

"And you really think it wise to send young children out into the field with justu that only serve distraction and infiltration purposes?" He said with narrowed eyes as the frustration he felt was easily plan to see.

"Well...the children are expected to learn the majority of what they'll need from experience as well as their jounin sensei." The man said looking a bit sheepish.

"So you teach them next to nothing for three years and call them ninja." Nubutaka said shaking his head at the sadness of the situation.

"I'm pretty confident genin from any other village would eat Konoha's genin for breakfast. You know what they do for graduation exams in the bloody mist?" He said tilting his head slightly as he questioned the people tasked with educating the villages next generation of shinobi.

"While there is merit behind what yo-"

Nubutaka didn't wait for the man to finish speaking.

"Kids in my village learn water walking and tree climbing almost always by the age of six just for fun. These kids hardly even know the basics of chakra control, the only useful skills their taught is basic taijustu, hand signs, and how to throw shurieken and channel chakra."

Nubutaka looked at the instructors again and held back his urge to scowl or sigh, as far as he was concerned they knowingly failed the kids.

"No wonder the fourth Hokage had to take out nearly half an army by himself."

Hiruzen cleared his throat understanding what the man was saying but feeling as if he'd said enough.

"Apologies Hokage sama, but honestly I was horrified to see how lax the instruction is for 'shinobi' tranies in the village."

"Something I've been saying for years." Danzo commented.

"What changes do you suggest we make to the curriculum?" One of the instructors asked the man.

"I'd say rewrite the whole thing, but seeing as no one has time for all that paperwork there's more than a couple of things that could be added. Such as water walking and tree climbing which would be part of a chakra control class, give students a chance to study other taijustu besides the academy style, extra curricular activities such as weapons training, sensory classes, tracking and evasion classes, stealth training and throw some more justu in to what they're already learning, they do attend the academy for three years after all."

""Most of these would be an option as additional classes students who wish to advance further faster can take but the curriculum and the requirements for graduation, they would definitely need to include more than they already do. Every ten years or so the academies curriculum gets more and more detached from creating competent shinobi and just focusing on teaching kids the basics."

"The children graduating from the academy should already be shinobi not children with the bare minimum of shinobi skills." Nubutaka said feeling out of character in his frustration.

"I agree whole heartedly with the boys suggestion." Danzo said his approval of the man rising.

"I agree as well, my son has told me on multiple occasions he learned nothing from the academy he didn't already know." Fugaku said seeing eye to eye with Danzo for once.

All of the clan heads who hadn't known the academy was so lax nodded their heads same as the civilians some of whom actually had students who attended the academy.

Hiruzen smiled seeing all of the room was in agreement with the suggestions.

"Well then, I'm glad we choose you for the job. We'll need you to write down your ideas for improving the academy and it's curriculum before we can go about bringing up the necessary paperwork and having it signed. I appreciate you for bringing this up with the council so soon."

Nubutaka bowed respectfully.

"It's no problem Hokage sama I appreciate the councils agreement with me on the matter I will get started on that paper immediately." The Monogahi said walking towards the door receiving nods of gratitude and respect as he went.

"You are all dismissed." Hiruzen said standing and heading back towards his office.

Inoichi stood and crossed the room quickly intent on reaching one of his fellow clan heads before they left.

"Hey Fugaku! How's about you me and the Monogahi go grab a couple of drinks?" Inoichi said placing his arm around the man's shoulder finding it quickly shrugged off.

"I'd rather not, I have work to d-"

"Nonsense! All work and no play makes life a dull joy! Come on, my treat." Inoichi said with a friendly grin.

"Hey if you guys are going out for drinks I want in." Tsumi said with Choza nodding from beside her.

"Might as well get some food while we're out too." Choza said smiling per was usual for the burly Akamichi when food was involved.

"I already said I have work to take care o-"

"Awwww, is the big bad Uchiha scared to get whooped in a game of poker again?" Tsumi smirked knowing Fugaku to be just as competitive as she was.

He turned to her at the sound of a challenge and narrowed his eyes returning the competitive gaze.

"Scared of losing no, scared I may send one of my colleagues back to her kennel with her tail between her legs, perhaps a little."

Tsumi's smirk widened knowing she had her poker rival now.

"Those there are fighting words Losaku! I hope you're ready to back them up!"

"Don't say I didn't warn you." The man said developing a small smirk of his own.

"Sounds fun." Shikaku said walking up and inviting himself as the group sighed knowing no one beat the Nara in games of any kind.

Tsumi and Fugaku both turned to stare down Shikaku now as their poker rivalry was temporarily put the side for the purpose of beating the undefeated Nara.

The Nara just smirked confident in his ability to handle the both of them and anyone else who wanted some.

"I'll meet you guys at Choza's bar and barbecue since thats probably where we're going, I'm gonna go grab Nubutaka since I owe him a drink and I'm sure he'll want to come." Inoichi said heading towards the door.

"Be sure you don't skip out on our game blondie I've got a bone to pick with you too!" Tsumi shouted after the man.

Inoichi smirked stopping just inside the doorway and turning back.

"Oh don't worry, I've got a bone to pick with everyone! After today Konoha will have a new poker champion!" He said pointing a thumb at his chest.

"Keep dreaming blondie." Tsumi and Shikaku said at the same time.

They began walking out of the Hokage tower towards one of Choza's restaurants which also doubled as a bar playfully bickering over who was the better poker player and who would be champ after today.

Arriving at the gates of Konoha were a group of shinobi with two familiar faces who hadn't set foot in the village in a while.

The white haired Shinobi in the group inhaled deeply smiling fondly as he was assaulted by memories and a sense of nostalgia.

"Man does it feel good to be home." The sannin sighed happily.

"You said it, I had no idea how much I missed this place." Tsunade said a part of her wishing she'd come home sooner.

"Would you two first like to drop off your things and then head to the Hokage tower?" Kakashi asked noticing the emotional depth in the eyes of the sannin as they looked at the village for the first time in years.

"Thanks kid but we'd better go talk to the old man first." Jiriya said as Tsunade nodded in agreement.

The group began walking towards the Hokages tower as shinobi and civilians all around them stopped in the middle of what they were doing staring in disbelief when they noticed two of the legendary ninja who were reputed as some of the greatest the world had ever seen.

Hushed whisphers could be heard all around them as people talked about the return of Tsunade Senju Konoha's slug princess and The great Jiriya author of the new and world renowned make out tactics.

The two eventually arrived at the tower having paid no mind to the attention they'd received from the villagers besides nodding and waving at those who paid them greetings.

The two were told to wait outside of the Hokages office by an anbu who's training did little to help him resist the fear he felt when the slug princess told him move or he'd find himself waking up in the hospital tomorrow after she used his blood to paint the walls of the lobby they stood in.

Jiriya quickly leaned forward so he could whisper in the man's ear not wanting to see Tsunade follow through with her threat.

"I suggest you listen to her, she's deadly serious and not even the old man would attempt to save you from her wraith."

The anbu became visibly more nervous as he stepped aside and qiuckly apologized to the woman who ignored him and flung open the doors to the office as the rest of the group came in behind her.

Hiruzen looked up wondering who'd just barged in his office and was surprised to see two of his students standing with the tracker squad.

"Jiriya, Tsunade.. I can't tell you how good it feels to see the both of you again." Hiruzen said smiling fondly.

"Likewise sensei, but the Hokage hat has not been kind to you at all has it?" Tsunade asked taking in the aged appearance of her teacher who merly chuckled at her reply.

""I suppose it has been rather stressful but I do what I must." Hiruzen said truthfully.

"I know what you mean sensei, being responsible for the greatest piece of literature to grace the elemental nations in years comes with a certain amount of stress as well." Jiriya said smiling beside Tsunade who frowned at his statement.

Hiruzen looked at him thoughtfully for a moment before recognition dawned on his face.

"Ahhh yes, I've had the pleasure of reading your Icha Icha book but I must say I preferred your first one."

Jiriya shrugged knowing why his sensei preferred the tale of the utterly gutsy shinobi over his Icha Icha paradise.

"To be completely truthful I prefer the first book as well but it didn't sell very well unfortunately." The sannin said looking a bit disappointed.

Hiruzen nodded understanding that most civilians and even some shinobi shinobi couldn't understand or see the deep hidden truths or really follow the plot of the man's first book which was about the life of a shinobi who through guts and perseverance alone brung peace to the ninja world.

The Hokage turned to face the tracker squad congratulating them on a job well done and paying them for their services.

"As they bowed to the Hokage and left Tsunade spared the two Monogahi women one last look of gratitude and turned back towards her former teacher.

"As much as I'd like to catch up with how the both of you have been doing we have more pressing matters to address. I'm sure you both understand why I've asked you to return to the village." Sarutobi said getting to business.

They nodded confirming what the man already knew.

"Good, negotiations with Kumo are now set to take place three months from now in neutral territory. I'd very much appreciate it if you two were to accompany me to these negotiations to help deter the Raikage from any acts of foolishness."

"No disrespect sensei but you couldn't stop me from coming even if you wanted to." Tsunade said crossing her arms.

Jiriya nodded in agreement knowing Aye to be a hot head who didn't hesitate to throw his weight around when he wasn't having his way.

Sarutobi smiled already having figured they'd say yes but it made him feel better all the same.

"Excellent. In the mean time before the negotiations-"

Tsunade raised a hand cutting the man off.

"Before you get us briefed on the recent affairs and events of the village and ask me to take over the hospital I'd like to see my Nephew." Tsunade said in a way that left no room for argument.

"Seeing as I'm back in Konoha now I'd like to finally be introduced to my godson as well." Jiriya said in agreement.

Hiruzen looked away as a sad look took over his features much to the confusion of the sannin.

"Did something happen to Naruto?" Jiriya asked fearing the worst.

"Not at all Naruto is perfectly fine, but as for Minato's wish for the boy to be treated as a hero... I'm afraid the villagers do exactly the opposite and treat the boy as if he were personally responsible for the Kyubi's attack on the village or as if he were the fox himself."

"Naruto has only ever received any kind of affection from me and Inu when our duties permit us to visit him in his lonely apartment. Due to the scorn and hate he receives from the villagers on a daily basis he may be hesitant to trust either of you during your first meeting."

Hiruzen felt his heart clench in his chest at the shame and disappointment on Jiriya's face but more so at the rage he saw in Tsunade's eyes as she momentarily lost control of her chakra and it cracked his offices hardwood floor.

"Where is he?!" She snarled.

 **Back at the training field**

Two Shikono clones were standing in front of an exhausted and bruised team twelve.

The real Shikono walked between the two with a stretch and a yawn stopping to survey his genin who laid on the ground incapable of standing at the moment.

"Alright fellas you can go I've got this now." He said without looking at the clones.

"It's about time, lazy ass." One of his clones replied before they both disappeared in a poof of smoke and Shikono got their memories.

"Well you three did better than I expected but still not good enough." He said untying the smoke bomb and slipping it back into his pouch.

"How'd you catch my clone in that genjustu without ever making eye contact Itachi?"

"If I told you how would I be able to make use of the same strategy a second time?" The Uchiha questioned making it clear he wouldn't be giving away his secret.

Shikono smirked and crossed his arms as he sat on the ground with his students.

"Smart." He commented thinking back on the boys battle with his clones who hadn't even been scratched.

"Shisui you'd do better to control your emotions in battle. Always try to stay calm, if the enemy can manipulate how you feel manipulating the battle becomes easier for them, remember that."

"Hamura you're too predictable, try to improvise and come up with new strategies and tactics on the fly more, like your Uchiha teammates."

"Itachi you put to much value in having a strategy or a reliable plan, it never hurts to think ahead but sometimes just going off instinct is the way to go."

The genin all nodded at their sensei grateful for the advice but too tired to reply.

My clones may have overdid it, these three are gonna need some time before their ready to walk home."/emShikono thought sighing as he created three shadow clones.

"Carry these three home for me." He ordered as he flickered away.

"Lazy jerk can't even carry his own students home." A clone said moving to pick up Shisui.

"I know right, some teacher he is." Another said slinging Hamura over his shoulder.

"A thousand curses on Tobirama Senju for creating this insufferable justu." The last clone said picking up Itachi.

Two of the exhausted genin wondered was their sensei really so lazy that his shadow clones naturally resented the fact that he created them just to do work. Shisui however just chuckled at the clones that he found hilarious before having a brilliant idea.

He leaned up so he could speak directly to the clone that held him over it's shoulder.

"Just so you know sensei... I won." He said using the very last of his energy to plunge a kunai through the clones chest effectively dispelling it.

Shisui fell to the ground laughing as Hamura and Itachi looked at each other then back at their teammate.

Hamura began to smirk and started laughing along with him. "Nice one Shisui!" He said between laughs thinking about doing the same.

"Itachi mentally facepalmed. _"I don't know whether that was a wise or a foolish thing to do."_

Both of the remaining clones exchanged a glance as if to say I'm not carrying that one too before deciding rock paper scissors would make the decision for them.

After just arriving back at the village Shikono got the memories of the clone and smirked a little as he headed towards the bar. "Troublesome brat."

Just outside the Hokages tower

"I intended to send a messenger to your compound with this request but upon hearing you called for a council meeting I thought it better to ask in person." Hiashi said with the same detached business like demeanor he did everything with.

"It'd be an honor to train one of your Hyuga and I'd be perfectly willing that is if you don't mind him training with others." Nubutaka replied to the man who'd requested to speak with him for a moment and made his request.

"That's perfectly acceptable. What time shall I start sending the boy to your compound?" Hiashi asked very pleased that the man accepted.

"Anywhere between the hours of nine and ten is just fine whichever you'd prefer."

"In that case he will be there at nine. The Hyuga appreciate you and the kindness you're extending towards our young Neji."

"Nubutaka smiled knowing Hiashi to have some kind of alterior motive but still not expecting him to be this polite.

It's no problem at all I appreciate the chance to train a member of the Hyuga clan, I look forward to tomorrow."

"Hiashi developed a small smile and nodded to the man continuing on his way.

Nubutaka was about to continue on his own way when he saw Yukushia and Amaris exiting the Hokage tower with a few other shinobi and realized he'd been talking to Hiashi for a while.

He was about to approach the group to greet his family who'd been gone for a few weeks when he was stopped by a certain blond mind reader.

"There you are! I looked everywhere from the main street to your compound and you're still here?"

"Yeaa, I was having an interesting conversation with Hiashi, but what's up?" Nubutaka asked raising an eyebrow.

"Me and most of the other clan heads are gathering at the CB and B for food drinks and cards you wanna come?" Inoichi asked unwilling to take no for an answer.

"That sounds awesome, count me in." He said grinning at the chance to get to know the other clan heads better over food and drinks.

"I knew you would be! We even got Fugaku to join come on." Inoichi said grinning as he leapt to the roaf tops not wanting to waste anymore time and Nubutaka followed.

 **Konoha's main street**

Yukushia Amaris Kakashi and Enu all walked together going nowhere in particular as there time together on the mission had made them develop a fondness for one another.

Kakashi was about to suggest they all go out for something to eat to celebrate the completion of the mission when he heard a voice calling his name that startled him to his core.

"Oh no." The man said resisting the urge to take off sprinting in the opposite direction.

A man wearing a green track suit rounded the corner they'd just passed skidding to a halt in front of them and looking at Kakashi his eyes seemingly burning with fire.

"Welcome back and congratulations on completing your mission my rival! I've been awaiting your return since my last mission seeing as you won our last little contest and I can't have you one over-"

"Actually I'm up by two Gai." Kakashi interrupted looking like he wanted to disappear.

"What-" Gai said with a pause. "All the more reason for a challenge, I can't have you upstaging me Kakashi! My flames of youth-" Gai stopped mid sentence hearing chuckles as he turned and noticed the other ninja in the company of his rival two of whom he recalled from their battles in Dursula village.

Yukushia and Amaris tried to stop laughing when they saw the man turn and appraise them fully as if seeing them for the first time.

"Ahh the powerful women of beauty from the Monogahi clan, pleasure to see you again." Gai said smiling and shooting them the thumbs up as his teeth sparkled.

Yukushia chuckled at the man finding his demeanor to be funny and even cute for some reason.

"How charming." She smiled never meeting anyone quit as eccentric as the man before her.

Gai stepped forward and surprised everyone as he grasped the kunochi's hand and flashed her a flirtatious smile.

"I assure you milady that I am the one.. who is charmed." He said giving a formal bow and causing the konochi to blush lightly at his smooth and chivalrous manner.

"I've got to be dreaming." Kakashi thought unable to believe Gai actually made a woman blush.

The green spandex clad man gave Yukushia her hand back and turned to the ever silent Aburame with a friendly smile.

"Enu my friend, it's good to see you again outside of a mission."

"Likewise." The man said nodding causing the others to look at him in surprise as he hardly spoke to anyone and they'd all really just expected him to nod as was his usual response to greetings.

Gai then looked to the group as a whole and smiled in a friendly manner.

"My apologies for barging into the middle of your group like that and rudely signaling Kakashi out for a challenge but I saw a familiar head of silver hair and he's usually always by himself on most days."

"It's alright I'm sure no one really minds." Amaris answered with a friendly smile liking Kakashi's friend.

"Speak for yourself." Kakashi thought hoping Gai wouldn't start pestering him again for a challenge.

"Allow me to apologize by inviting you all out to eat. Consider it a congratulations for a safe return from your mission, my treat." Gai offered.

"We wouldn't want to impose." Yukushia said sounding as if she'd rather not burden the man.

"Nonsense! I don't really like eating alone anyway, I'd be honored if you all were to accompany me to get some food and allow me to pay for your meals."

Yukushia smiled admiring that this man had the true qualities of a gentleman.

"I've got no objections." Kakashi shrugged as everyone else nodded in agreement.

"Excellent lead the way to whatever place you guys would like to eat from." Gai said happy to have some company for his evening meal.

 **One of Konoha's many apartment complex's**

Tsunade knocked on the door they'd been given the address to as Jiriya stood behind her trying to calm his nerves.

 _"I really hope the kid doesn't start to resent me when I tell him I'm his God father."_ Jiriya thought feeling guilty he hadn't taken even a short break away from his spy network to come check up on the kid that was entrusted to him.

Tsunade thought similar thoughts knowing Kushina would never forgive her for not coming to see her son after the death of both his parents. As his last remaining relative she owed the boy that much.

The door creaked open just slightly and both sannin had to look down to see the young boy with fox whiskers who was the spitting image of Minato.

"Hello Naruto, may we come in?" Tsunade asked stooping down so she was on an even eye level with the boy who looked at them suspiciously from the stack of phone books he had to stand on to open the door.

 **Flashback**

"Why do you have a three year old living alone in an apartment when he's barely old enough to know how to tie his own shoes?" Jiriya asked looking upset as Tsunade paced around the room in an attempt to calm her anger.

"Previously I've had Naruto staying in an orphanage but after discovering he was being abused I had to find him different living arrangements." Sarutobi grimly replied.

"WHAAT!? WHAT ORPHANAGE? I'LL KILL THE BASTARDS!" Tsunade raged whirling around to question her sensei with a heated glare.

"While I do understand your anger the offending parties have already been punished in regards to the fullest extent of the law. Divulging that information to you would possibly do more harm than good." The Hokage replied sounding regretful.

"You're damn right I'm gonna do some harm! WHOEVER PUT THEIR HANDS ON MY NEPHEW-"

Jiriya put a hand up cutting the womans rant short when she saw the deadly expression on the man's face.

"Hold on Tsunade there's something that needs to be addressed here." He said looking at Hiruzen who hadn't felt this bad about something since the night of the nine trails attack when he lost not only many valuable family and friends but his wife as well.

"You said offending parties not party. There were multiple people involved in this?" Jiriya questioned.

""Unfortunately there were multiple incidents at multiple orphanages that convinced me it'd be best to move Naruto into his own apartment."

Tsunade lost it and ended up shattering one of walls in the Hokages office in her rage.

 **Present day**

Although Jiriya and Tsunade were giving Naruto the warmest smiles they could manage despite their mixed feelings he only held mistrust and confusion in his gaze.

"Jii told me I shouldn't talk to strangers." He said looking like he didn't know if he should close the door or not.

Jiriya stepped forward and followed Tsunade's lead crouching down so that he was also on eye level with the boy.

"We aren't strangers Naruto we used to be really good friends of your parents but we were gone from the village for a while."

"You knew my mom and dad?" Naruto asked as his eyes lit up with curiosity and wonder.

"We did, Jiriya here was actually a good friend of your dad's and your great grandma and my grandmother were sisters which makes you my nephew." Tsunade said smiling genuinely when she saw Naruto allowing himself to drop his guard.

Meanwhile Jiriya crouched beside her struggling to fight back tears.

"Kids the spitting image of you Minato. Even has your intelligence forming perfect sentences easily at three."

Naruto was staring at the two with a look of confusion and disbelief that said he couldn't really believe what he was hearing.

"Naruto you may be upset when I tell you this but I'm your godfather." Jiriya said attempting to break the boy out of his trance.

"What's a godfatgodfather ?" He asked after remaining silent for another moment.

"It's basically like a backup parent who was choosen by your real parents to step in and take care of you incase something happens to them. I know I should have been there for you way sooner than this but I had important duties to the village that kept me busy. Now that I've finally meant you I promise to be there for you from now on, you'll never have to be alone again kid." Jiriya said with a look of seriousness on his face.

"That goes for me too Naruto. As the people who were closest to your parents we should have been here for you from the start and we'll understand if you hate us but just know that you have family who's here for you now and we'll never leave you alone again." Tsunade said just as serious as the toad sage.

"Much to their surprise the three year old flung the door open and crashed into them both sobbing and asking them where they'd been.

Both sannin breathed a sigh of relief grateful that he didn't hesitate to accept them.

 **In a dark hidden corner of Konoha**

"You say Jiriya and Tsunade have returned to the village?" A figure standing over a man under heavy anesthetics on an operating table inquired taking a pause from what he was doing.

"Unfortunately yes, I've had the displeasure of confirming it with my own eyes.." A boy with glasses and silver hair said bowing behind the figure.

The figure smirked a chilling snake like grin. "Interesting... I'd like you to continue monitoring the village for me." He said going back to his work.

"As you wish." The boy said standing and exiting the room as the figure of a man with half his body wrapped in bandages walked in a moment after the silver haired med nin had left.

"I don't recall you having your spies running around the village gathering information for you to be a part of our deal.. Orochimaru."

The snake sannin smirked not bothering to look away from his work.

"Its not like I wouldn't have them doing what they are now even if you weren't so generous to extend to me your kind offer for a temporary partnership."

"Be careful not to get to comfortable in your position sannin." Danzo warned.

Orochimaru's smirk merely widened.

"Do tell me, how are your adopted daughters Imari and.. Inoha was it?" The snake said turning and grinning at the man getting no response just as he expected.

"You're no fun to tease." He said after a moment turning back to his work.

"How far along have you progressed with the experiment so far." Danzo asked knowing his patience with the man wouldn't continue to extend much further.

"It's actually going very well, there are certain blockades that are slowing me but eventually they won't be much more of a problem. I've managed to uncover the gene for their easy elemental assimilation but the other genes are much harder to track down and replicate, however I have managed to isolate and study a few and much to my delight they're easily recreated in another vessel of none Monogahi decent. I will be needing more DNA samples though."

"Danzo narrowed his eyes at the man.

"You've already drawn blood from them twice this month alone I'm sure you can work with what you have."

Orochimaru shook his head and looked at Danzo condescendingly.

"Unfortunately not, science is never easy and it almost always requires sacrifice. Not growing attached to the girls now are we?"

Danzo resisted the urge to scowl at the man who for some reason thought himself too valuable to die at his hands or have his request denied.

"You will have your new samples but I expect you to work with that and stop pestering me for more, I'm already taking enough of a risk harbouring you here I don't need the Monogahi getting suspicious if someone somehow finds I've been drawing blood from the twins."

"Well pardon me if I was under the impression that NEE facilities have more security than anywhere else in the leaf village. As for your worry of discovery I wouldn't put too much thought into it, the needle marks are always out of sight and the girls are always so eager to please their dearest father that they will pay it no mind. If all goes well with the next sample we'll have exactly what it is we're looking for, and then some." Orochimaru said with his snake like grin.

Danzo ignored the man's last comment and left the room having business to attend to before going to prepare his daughters to once again have their blood drawn.

 **Two months later**

"Fireball justu!" Shisui spat a fireball at his opponent.

"Water style: Water bullet!" Neji countered spitting a water bullet which much to his surprise was consuming by the much more powerful ball of flame.

Luckily one of his teammates who was currently engaged in a taijustu battle with Hamura noticed and leapt backwards using chakra to increasing the distance.

"Earth style: Mud wall!" Inoha slammed her hands into the ground erecting a wall that protected the surprised Hyuga.

Neji became slightly annoyed he was supposed to be working on his elemental ninjustu and kenjustu skill with a kunai in these spars.

"If I was fighting using the gentle fist he'd have never have had the time or distance he needed to launch that justu."

Suddenly Shisui disappeared but thanks to his Byakugan Neji saw him reappear behind him in a flicker and whistled loudly before using the replacement justu with a person in place of a log.

Shisui wasn't surprised when Imari and Neji switched places and the girl parried the blow he meant for the Hyuga and began attacking him in a fury with her usual bone swords.

 _"Their getting really good with that move."_ Shisui thought blocking all of Imari's swings jabs and thrust with relative ease thanks to his sharingan and the battle experience he had.

Neji after switching places with Imari was now standing a short distance away from Itachi.

 _"Let's see what those eyes can really do."_ Both of the boys thought in unison.

Neji created a shadow clone and they both rushed the Uchiha. A strong gust of wind picked up and leaves on the ground began hindering Neji's visibility.

Thanks to his byakugan he was able to see the illusion lying over top of his reality so he didn't bother to pulse his chakra to dispel the genjustu, wanting to let Itachi think he had an edge over him.

A short distance away Inoha and Hamura had rengaged in their taijustu battle while Shisui and Imari seemingly danced with each other as kunai's clashed with bone swords.

 _"Man she's really fast for a genin hopeful and this style is crazy it feels like we're dancing."_ Shisui thought as he observed the girls strange style of fighting and took bits and pieces of it for his own style.

Imari made a low swipe at his leg which he soundly dodged, the girl quickly spun in a graceful arch bringing both her swords around which Shisui quickly parried.

She spun again landing three strikes in quick succession in the next second, the force and precision of her attack breaking Shisui's kunai which he quickly replaced.

She smirked figuring Shisui was staying on the defensive because he wanted to observe the Monogahi's adaptation to the Kaguya's style.

Imari leapt over Shisui and went into a flip as three bones came out of her back hitting Shisui's kunai continuously as she spun.

She landed on his other side and quickly launched a follow up assault this time adding a series of flips and kicks to her attacks as the dance became far more aggressive surprising Shisui that she still managed to look elegant all the while.

He smirked as he contemplated purchasing a sword of some kind when this was over.

Meanwhile Itachi was adding more genjustu to the simple one he'd already placed on Neji when he realized the Hyuga with his all seeing white eyes saw through the first with such clarity that he hadn't even bothered dispelling it.

One of the genjustu he added augmented the distance of all the objects within eye sight making far away objects seem to be closer and things that were close to seem far away. The other was meant to disorient an opponent making them see more than one of whatever it was they were looking at.

Much to his surprise the Hyuga and his clone didn't even seem to be bothered by the genjustu.

Itachi wasn't bothered by this though he was actually curious to see how much the byakugan could take.

Neji and his clone paused in mid charge seeing another genjustu layered atop the others.

"You are aware that no matter how many genjustu you use I will see through all of them?" Neji said with a cool confidence

"I must admit your eyes are impressive however that statement is debatable, even the sharingan has it's limits."

Neji smirked.

"Well it's a good thing your eyes aren't mine."

"Itachi smiled at the comment. "Well we'll just see about that." He said ready to launch another genjustu before his teams teacher flickered into the middle of the field.

"Alright brats mission time come on." Shikono said loudly enough for all his genin to hear.

Shisui groaned from where he was in the field. "Come on sensei can't we just skip the mission today I was having fun."

"You don't have fun when you're sparing with me?" Shikono said raising an eyebrow.

"Who can have fun getting beat down to the point of exhaustion?" The Uchiha replied.

Shikono shrugged not bothering to come up with an answer.

"So you prefer spares where you can easily win so you have to go easy on your opponents?" The Nara questioned

"No.. Imari has an interesting style and is actually pretty fast. Fighting her while staying on the defensive was actually giving me a few kenjustu pointers and helping me to improve my reflexes." Shisui replied.

"That may be so but there isn't really much you can learn from an opponent who is weaker than you, no offense Imari, and besides.. duty calls."

Shisui groaned not looking forward to another D ranked mission.

Neji realizing their spar was over dispelled Itachi's genjustu and bowed respectfully.

"It has been a pleasure sparing with you Uchiha san."

"Likewise, I hope we will be able to finish our rather interesting ocular battle soon." Itachi said with a small smile as he returned the Hyuga's respect.

"I look forward to it." Neji said with a slight smirk at the thought of beating the Uchiha hier.

Shisui turned to Imari mimicking Itachi and Neji seeing as even if he couldn't fight seriously he really did enjoy the battle.

Imari looked surprised and quickly mimicked him not wanting to be disrespectful.

"Hey if it's not too much trouble you think I could have one of those bone swords? They're freakin awesome!" Shisui said with a hopeful grin.

Imari looked at one of her blades then looked back at Shisui and quickly looked back down towards the swords as she developed a small blush.

Shikono sighed.

 _"Clueless kid doesn't even realize the intimacy of what he just did, he literally just requested that she give him a part of herself."_ After a moment Imari looked up and nodded with a smile tossing both blades to Shisui who's face lit up like a kid who'd just gotten his best birthday present ever.

"No way I can have both of them...this is so cool! Thanks Imari!" He said turning away from the swords he was admiring to give her with the brightest grin anyone had seen from the Uchiha since he'd learned the flicker.

The usually outspoken Monogahi just nodded and smiled shyly glad someone outside of her clan saw her ability as cool rather than creepy or disturbing.

Hamura pouted from where he stood next to Inoha.

"No fair Shisui gets swords!"

Shisui turned around hearing the boy and smirked victoriously.

Hamura couldn't help but chuckle not really too jealous as he thought carrying Imari's bones around with him would actually be pretty weird. He did contemplate purchasing a sword now though noticing his teammate did look pretty cool with his.

He turned to Inoha and ruffled her hair affectionately causing her to frown and pull away.

"Good spare little cousin your really good for someone your age, I'm gonna have to watch out or you may just surpass me one day." Hamura said with a smile causing Inoha to drop her frown and smile back at her big cousin.

"Thanks Hamura, but next time you mess with my hair I'm gonna sock you one!" She warned with a grin poking him in the arm.

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind but don't expect it to stop me though." Hamura said walking to the middle of the field to stand in front of his sensei with the rest of his teammates.

Team twelve said their goodbyes and left after Nubutaka thanked Shikono for allowing them to train with his students today. Usually they trained with him on the weekends and the weekdays were reserved for missions and training under the Nara.

"Alright now it's time for you to spare with me, feel free to use your full arsenal of skills and abilities this time, don't hold back." The clan head told the three shinobi in training who nodded and got into formation.

 **Konoha's slums**

"Brother Sino?"

The boy looked up from the pile of stolen goods him and his gang were sorting and throwing into separate piles depending on the value.

"Yea Lily?" He asked looking at the blond girl he'd taken it upon himself to care for.

"Are you serious about becoming a ninja?" She asked the only family she'd really ever known as her eyes asked a million more questions.

Jusino was surprised her question actually came out like a perfect sentence.

"Yea I really am, that kid seemed really strong and if I was strong like that imagine all the food I could get us. Plus I heard ninja get paid a lot, I could probably even get us a house! I'm gonna go find that Hamura guys compound tomorrow and see how I get started." The boy said with wonder in his eyes as he considered the possibilities.

"I'm gonna see if his family can adopt you as a day servant so I can be sure you're safe during the day."

"Kay.." The girl said seemingly saddened by the statement.

Jusino noticed and moved away from his pile and sat down beside the girl he called Lily.

He looked at her for a moment before grabbing the end of her sun bleached hair which touched the ground when she sat down.

"We've seriously gotta cut this again." He smirked pulling a rubber band from his pocket and tying it up.

"Don't worry though Lily I'll still spend all my time around you when I-"

"There they are!" An excited voice that was familiar to the boy said entering the hideout.

"Naruto?" Jusino said looking at the blond kid he'd thought died in a gutter somewhere. "Ohh man! Where ya been little bro?" He said embracing the boy who'd ran with his crew sometimes.

"I had to stop coming to this side of town because the people here would sometimes try to hurt me, not like the other villagers who usually just frown and say mean things." Naruto said smiling and returning the hug.

"Who's this guy with you?" Jusino said upon ending the hug and noticing the man.

"This is my God dad he's been living with me and teaching me things for the past two months. The villagers call him Jiriya sama but I like calling him super spikey haired toad sensei, cause he summons frogs and calls them by that weird name." Naruto said grinning at the older boy.

Jiriya facepalmed wondering how many more times he'd have to explain to the boy that toads and frogs were not the same thing.

 _"For a smart kid, kids not that bright."_ He thought with an internal sigh before looking at the leader of the band of street urchins who all looked at him curiously.

 _"It's terrible to think that the only people in the village who accept Naruto besides the Hokage and an anbu I'm sure was likely Minato's student are a group of street urchins who aren't even accepted themselves."_

"Sup kiddos." Jiriya said to the group wanting to thank them for being there for Naruto but not really knowing how.

"Sup old man." A young kid said in the back causing the others to snicker.

Jiriya frowned at the kid resisting his urge to scare the boy into wetting his pants with some low level justu.

"For starters I'm just passing my glory years, most wouldn't consider me to be old at this age."

Jusino stared curiously at the large scroll on the man's back knowing usually only ninja carried scrolls of that type.

"Are you a ninja?" He asked Jiriya wondering why his headband had the kanji for oil instead of the usual symbol of the leaf village.

"Well you're an observant one, yes I'm a ninja." Jiriya said not giving the kids his full title knowing that with no parents and no former schooling they wouldn't have heard of the sannin.

"Can you help me become a ninja?" The boy asked looking hopeful.

Jiriya seemed to be in thought for a moment before he smiled at the boy.

"Sure but aren't you the leader of this group? I thought it was a leaders duty to look after all the other kids in his gang, can't do that during the day from the academy." He said with an intelligent smirk causing the kids including Naruto to all look at him in wonder.

"How'd you know that?" The boy asked looking at Jiriya with suspicion.

"I grew up without my parents same as you guys, I once roamed the slums with a survival group just like you kids. I had the luck of being spotted by an anbu who noticed my talent and took me to the academy." Jiriya said crossing his arms as the kids now looked at him with wonder.

"What happened to your gang?" One of the kids in the back asked sounding excited.

Jiriya sighed not wanting to tell the kids who's ages ranged from five to nine that most gangs of street urchins didn't last to see most of their members reach fourteen.

Eventually as the kids got older and more independent they'd start bickering over food and money. Some of the boys joining corrupt businesses and organizations and fitting in well thanks to their street smarts. Some of the girls becoming prostitutes or show girls thanks to the housing and low income it'd provide.

Some of them just didn't survive but as a group usually they just never made it.

"Why do you wanna become a ninja anyway kid and what'll happen to your gang?" Jiriya asked deciding to just change the subject.

Jusino saw some pain in the man's eyes and decided to just go along with it.

"This ninja kid showed up a while ago and messed up one of our chances to get some money from this old guy. But afterwards he told us he didn't agree with what we were doing but he wished he could help and he gave us enough money to feed our group for a week."

"I wanna be strong like that, not just strong enough to protect people but strong enough to provide for my gang on my own, then there's Lily." He said pointing to a small girl with sun bleached blonde hair that was nearly white.

"She's always been too weak to provide for herself or pull her own weight so it's up to me to take care of her cause she won't last as long out here as the rest of us."

"I'm not abandoning my gang I'll still be here helping them when I'm not learning to be a ninja. Three others from our group are gonna join me at the academy and I'm gonna see if I can get the kid who helped us to take care of Lily during the day so I know she'll be safe." The boy said with a fire in his eyes that told Jiriya he'd made up his mind.

 _"Kid reminds me of myself."_ Jiriya thought fondly deciding then he'd help him and his group.

"Well then I'll tell you what kid. I'll go talk to the Hokage and the academy instructors about getting you kids in late into this school year and finding somewhere for you and your gang to stay while you're gone. I'll help you guys with food so there's no need for you to keep coming here and stealing from people."

Jusino looked surprised not having asked for all that and definitely not expecting it.

"Y-you'd really help us like that?" Jisino said not quite believing it.

"It's no big deal kid, you guys helped my God son here not to feel so lonely when nobody else was there for him, it's the least I could do." Jiriya smiled at the boy and his group who all sported faces of shock and disbelief.

"You really think the Hokage would actually give us a place to stay?" He asked sounding hopeful.

"Of course! I know the Hokage and the council get a bad rep in the slums of Konoha for letting people live in poverty but he's actually a good guy and he helps those he can whenever he has the opportunity."

Jusino didn't know what to say but he could see the sincerity in the man's eyes and tell he wasn't lying.

Jiriya grinned at the boy and the rest of his groups speechlessness and began to turn back the way they came before looking over his shoulder.

"Go sell all those stolen goods and be careful to stay out of trouble while I'm gone. I'll be back in about two days after I've spoken with everyone I need to and gotten things set up for you guys, remember to be safe and out of trouble while I'm gone." He smiled but said the last part sternly.

"My name's Jiriya by the way. Come on Naruto it's almost time for your evening lessons." Jiriya said beckoning his shocked step son.

"R-right!" The blonde said running to the side of the man he'd just gained a new level of respect and admiration for.

Jiriya got halfway outside of the alley with the small hidden hole in the wall when he heard the boy behind him yelling something.

He stopped and turned around halfway to hear what the boy had to say.

"Thank you Jiriya sama!" The boy said holding back tears the man could see welling in the corner of his eyes.

The sannin smiled grateful for his appreciation but felt it was unnecessary, he was doing it because it was the right thing to do not because he wanted it to be acknowledged.

"Don't mention it kid, us street rats gotta stick together right? Just be sure to keep the same motivation for becoming a shinobi that you have now and that'll be thanks enough." Jiriya said before continuing on his way.

"Right, master Jiriya!" The boy said intent on doing just that and waving back at Naruto who was giving him a farewell wave with that big goofy grin of his that always made people smile.

 **One of Konoha's training fields**

Amaris sat in a tree patiently waiting as Kakashi had promised to spare with her two weeks ago when he'd gotten back from one of his anbu missions.

Amaris wasn't fond of how his anbu duties kept him out of the village for days and weeks at a time and how he'd get back and usually go right back on another mission but she'd been able to convince him when she saw him two weeks ago that next time he took the day off he'd spare with her and maybe go grab something to eat with her Yukushia Enu and Gai again if they were all in the village.

Unfortunately the others were out on missions right now but he'd found her yesterday and informed her he'd have the day off tomorrow and they could finally have that spare.

Needless to say she'd been beyond excited and even let the man go home to get some sleep despite wanting to go grab a bite with him.

She heard the rustle of leaves and sat up on the tree branch seeing the man below her staring up and wearing his usual shinobi attire.

She grinned and quickly leapt from the branch landing right in front of Kakashi.

"So nice to see you made it mask kun, I was beginning to think you forgot about me." She said knowing she looked excited.

Kakashi groaned wondering if she would ever stop calling him that.

"I hope you brought your best techniques with you." Kakashi teased knowing the girl was a jounin and the battle wouldn't be an easy one to win.

"Oh indeed I did, hope I can say the same for you cause you'll need them." Amaris said leaping backwards and getting into her battle stance not wanting to waste any time.

Even though he was in the anbu most ninja could indentify Kakashi by the rare silver hair on his head and he was beginning to build quite the name for himself.

"Skipping the formalities and the foreplay huh? I thought you'd at least offer to buy me dinner first." Kakashi teased uncrossing his arms and getting into his stance as well.

Amaris blushed taken of guard as she never expected Kakashi to be one to casually flirt as that was usually her role. She wondered if it was the influence of Jiriya's book finally starting to take affect.

Before she could reply though the jounin rushed forward and threw a strong jab with his left which Amaris blocked bringing her left arm up to block a swing he threw with his right.

The kunochi smiled as Kakashi began throwing a number of jabs throwing in hooks here and there as he appeared to just be testing the girl.

She blocked another jab and finally attempted to counter attack throwing a right but Kakashi expected this and caught her arm turning and flinging her a short distance away.

She quickly caught herself and prepared to rush the jounin but found he'd had the same idea as she had to quickly duck a spinning jump quick she'd felt the air coming from as it went over her head.

Kakashi was upon her again throwing a flurry of jabs and hooks this time moving faster than before as Amaris found herself surprised by the man's increase in speed and realized she had no time or room to counter only block and dodge.

His style was nearly flawless she saw no openings no wasted movements and he seemed to be able to predict hers as every blow got closer to breaking her guard or hitting her.

She noticed Kakashi smirking through his mask and frowned deciding she'd have to switch her style as he seemed to be leagues ahead of her in taijustu and the man wasn't even using his legs yet.

She quickly leapt away after dodging another swing and Kakashi charged her again wondering why she was attempting to gain distance.

As he approached he noticed she'd changed her stance holding both arms up one hand forward and one arm at her side as both her palms faced outward.

 _"That's a stance of the gentle fist."_ Kakashi thought remembering she'd used the Byakugan back in her village when she spared with Nubutaka.

He'd gotten within striking range holding off on striking first as he was wary of the style and really wanted to see what she could do with it first.

She thrust her back hand forward first aiming a hit and the jounins chest which he easy blocked knocking her other hand away as it quickly moved in intent on catching him off guard which would be much harder than the girl probably thought.

She began unleashing a flurry of palm strikes as Kakashi suddenly found himself going on the defensive as when he attempted to punch the girl she'd hit his arm with a burst of chakra temporarily making his arm go numb and slowing his attack and defense.

"Well then.." Kakashi thought knocking both her arms to the side and aiming a kick towards her head which she dodged just barely getting away in time.

Kakashi began using his legs in the spar as Amaris saw a big difference from now and before becoming slightly fustrated as the addition of his other two limbs proved to be too much and she found she could hardly keep up with all the attacks the man was throwing her way.

The gentle fist was not a defensive style after all and when facing an opponent with an overwhelming offense the only option was to have a better one which she clearly didn't have when it came to taijustu with Kakashi.

She jumped away again and breathed deeply feeling a little winded from their little taijustu bout.

Kakashi didn't follow her this time he just observed her with his one eye apparently waiting to see what she planned on doing next.

Amaris smiled at the man.

"How'd you get so good at taijustu?"

He raised an eyebrow at her as if the answer was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Special anbu training as well as Gai's constant challenges will do that to you."

She chuckled wondering why she didn't guess as much.

"Well you're obviously better than me in that category." The Monogahi woman said unsheathing her katana.

"Let's see how good your kenjustu skills are though." She said with a cat like grin slipping into a kenjustu stance Kakashi didn't recognize.

He shrugged as if to say they're, meh.

"I'll try not to disappoint." He said pulling out a kunai.

The jounin rushed each other kunai clashing with sword in a blade lock as Amaris reacted first pushing her blade against the kunai with a strength that surprised Kakashi.

She pushed him back a bit and their blades separated. She quickly spung around attempting to kick Kakashi in his side but the man quickly blocked the roundhouse.

She turned and spun again in the opposite direction on one leg before Kakashi could react, twisting in a short of ballerina twirl with her sword out as it clashed with Kakashi's kunai and her foot came around again catching Kakashi in his side this time as he'd used his hand to block the sword with his kunai and couldn't move his arm in time.

Although the kick was a strong one the jounin only budged a little as he'd planted his feet and skidded in the dirt a bit.

He grabbed her leg with both hands dropping his kunai and did a half spin throwing the girl towards a tree.

She summonded a bit of wind using the gale to right herself in the air landing on her feet against the trunk of the tree.

Kakashi smiled at the ingenuity of what she did and the smirk she developed as she summonded another gale and used her chakra to catapult off the tree splintering the bark.

He kicked his kunai off the ground and into to his hand pulling another one out and crossing them as he streamed chakra into both blades knowing she'd cut through them if he didn't.

She reached the man and their blades clashed again as the force at which she was flying pushed Kakashi back as he struggled to hold his ground and was pushed a few feet back leaving a trail in the dirt from where he'd been standing to where he was standing now.

They stood there in a blade lock as Amaris smirked at the man and he did the same beneath his mask.

She eased up on her swords pressure as Kakashi felt it and did the same wondering what the strong kunochi had in mind.

She took a few steps back and grinned at Kakashi who couldn't help but grin back wondering what she backed off for.

"You're really good but I can't help but feel you're going easy on me. As an anbu I know you're trained to kill more than anything so you being serious means you could seriously hurt me."

Kakashi was surprised by her statement but didn't let it show as he remained quiet not denying the truth of what she said.

"So instead of censoring ourselves to feeling each other out in one asset of shinobi combat I figure it'd be best if we just go all out! I know I can force you to take me seriously!" Amaris said as her eyes light up and her stormcloak came to life around her.

 _"Ohh boy.."_ Kakashi thought knowing he'd have to take the woman seriously now or he might just be the one losing his life or getting seriously wounded here.

"Guess I have no choice." He said with a smirk as he moved his headband up over his eye revealing the sharingan Amaris had no idea he had.

"Woah how did-"

"Summoning: Earth style!" Kakashi shouted after bitting his thumb and slamming his hand on the ground.

When the smoke cleared a second later two ninja dogs with white and grey fure stood in front of Kakashi snarling at Yukushia with raised haunches as if waiting for Kakashi to give them the signal.

"These are Anoi and Ashirobi twin ninken who come from a long line of ninja hounds who've been trained to resist lighting style justu." Kakashi said knowing why she looked so confused figuring she thought they'd be useless against her cloak.

"This is Amaris guys and she's an ally, this is just a friendly spare so no lethal attacks alright."

The ninken both barked letting Kakashi know they understood as Amaris saw some of the ferocity and bloodlust they'd been originally staring at her with disappear.

 _"Their so cute!"_ Amaris gushed in her mind knowing those words were better left for after their spare less they use her admiration of their physical appearance to their advantage.

Kakashi smiled as her grin returned and she looked at him and the ninken with a look of determination.

He held out his right hand and gripped it with his left forming a chidori in his hand he began streaming chakra from to his legs amplifying his speed.

Amaris looked at the jounin in surprise as she realized that was why he questioned her about it during their first meeting. They'd both somehow developed the same justu and technique for it.

"Let's go!" He shouted to the ninken as he rushed forward with amazing speed that didn't surprised Amaris one bit.

She meant him halfway as her blade clashed with his chidori creating a shock wave and sending lighting chakra all throughout the imediate area.

She quickly backed away as the ninken were approaching her side virtually disappearing and surprising the ninken as she moved so fast, but with his sharingan Kakashi could follow her movement and with the highly condesends lightning chakra in his legs he was able to keep up.

They clashed causing mayhem around the battle field as strong gust of wind and huge burst of lightning could be seen within rapid succession of one another and was felt by some of Konoha's better sensors who were near the training field, the two seemed to be causing into the location of a natural disaster.

The two ninken had stopped trying to keep up as the two jounin moved around the battle field appearing as a blue and purple blur that kept colliding with each other.

The two watched in amazement wondering if Kakashi knew they would be battling on this level when he summonded them.

Kakashi and Amaris were having the time of their lives as Kakashi recalled he hadn't had this much fun with the lightning blade since he'd cut that bolt of lightning in two and Amaris noticing Kakashi was much better than her with the chidori which she didn't have a name for. She also couldn't recall when she'd been able to have fun with her storm cloak like this, fighting Tsunade was something else entirely she'd felt more fear and worry in that battle then fun and excitement.

The two clashed again as Kakashi realized her storm cloak which she was streaming through her sword was just about equal in power to his chidori which had enough power to cut through anything but her blade apparently.

He leapt away from the woman who didn't give chase in her surprise at him backing away and stood on the small river that ran through the training field.

He formed the seal of confrontation and two shadow clones popped into existence beside him.

 _"I'd better finish this soon, using the lightning blade like this is really killing my reserves."_ Kakashi thought as his shadow clones both created their own lightning blades and streamed lighting chakra to their feet same as he was doing.

Amaris grinned and activated her Byakugan which Kakashi had forgotten about up until this point.

She held her other hand out and created a chidori in that one getting into another battle stance and challenging Kakashi and his clones with her eyes.

Kakashi smirked and pulled out a kunai he began streaming chakra through with his hand that didn't hold the chidori.

He and his clones rushed the girl his duplicates splitting off to the left and the right as Kakashi ran straight at her.

He clashed with the girl before his clones arrived as they approached from the sides attempting a flanking manuver.

Amaris seeing them clearly with her now near 360 degree vision leapt away from her silver haired mask kun which was exactly what Kakashi expected her to do.

As soon as she touched the ground a short distance away a pair of hands rose from the ground and locked her in place as the clones approached and raised their chidori's.

 _"Lightning style:Flash teleportation!"_ Amaris thought reacting quickly but unfortunately for her Kakashi expected that as well and hand already dispelled his chidori and began forming handsigns.

 _"Fire style: Phoniex fire justu!"_ Kakashi thought as he began spitting a number of fire balls towards all the area's he expected the kunochi to reappear.

Turns out most of his educated assumptions on where she'd try to reappear were right as his barrage of small fireballs coupled with the relentless attacks from his clones forced the girl to continue using the flashy teleportation justu he wondered if he could learn.

After being on the defensive for a while Amaris reappeared behind Kakashi much to his surprise but found her attack route quickly cut off when the ninken she'd forgotten about were upon her in seconds after she'd went after their summoner.

She smiled inwardly seeing the tactical mindset of her Mask kun in play. Too bad she'd never bothered learning how to make clones.

The hounds where pushing her back and she began focusing her chakra for another flash teleportation realizing at this rate between the ninken and the clones up close and Kakashi at a distance she'd eventually be overwhelmed.

Before she could do something about it both the clones did something that surprised her stopping in their sprint towards her and thrusting their hands forward.

"Lightning beast running justu!" Their chidori's crackled and leapt from their hands taking the shape of a majestic beast that resembled a wolf somewhat and flew threw the air towards her at a surprising speed.

"No way!" She thought amazed at the beauty and ingenuity of what she was seeing.

"Lightning style: Twin zap dragons!" Amaris shouted without forming hand signs for the justu thanks to the ninken who'd seemed to get much faster when she'd attempted to go after Kakashi.

Two small dragons of lightning flew from the girls storm cloak pushing the ninken away and colliding with Kakashi's running beast creating two craters in the ground where they all ended up destroying each other.

Amaris looked at Kakashi and noticed he appeared to be running low on chakra and grinned.

"Awww does my precious Mask kun need a break." She teased.

Kakashi just smirked as if there was something he knew that she didn't.

Suddenly both of the clones he'd created were right in front of her leaving her no time to wonder how as she quickly reacted to them both and slammed her chidori through one and her sword through the other wondering why it was that easy.

She got her answer when both clones instead of dispelling into smoke dispelled into lightning which was actually strong enough to make it through her storm cloak.

Amaris found herself screaming and falling over in agony as her storm cloak involuntarily dispelled and it began to feel like every cell in her body was on fire.

After the powerful shock to her system she shakily made her way to her feet feeling like she could hardly stand and came face to face with Kakashi who held a kunai to her throat.

That last attack rattled her too much to comment on the man's win but she was proud he'd been able to defeat her with such a brilliant technique he probably could've used way earlier in their match if he wanted.

She nodded and smiled weakly to the man and tried to stop herself from involuntarily shaking from the powerful shock. She felt Kakashi lift her off her feet and carry her over to one of the tree's that hadn't been destroyed in the fight.

He laid her against the tree and then pulled his headband back down and Amaris noticed something crazy about his sharingan.

"K-k-k-k-" She tried unsuccessfully to form the man's name but he put a finger to his mouth silencing her attempts.

"Just take it easy for a couple minutes give your body time to fully disperse the electricity." Kakashi said sitting down and leaning against the tree next to her.

Having killed people with that technique before he knew what it was capable of but he'd known the girls storm cloak would likely absorbed most of it so he'd used it to end the fight before he'd ran through the last drop of his chakra.

She sat there for a few moments observing him with her Byakugan as he'd pulled out the book she thought he finished and pretended to pay her no mind.

"Thanks." She said a few minutes later when she felt like she could finally speak again without constantly tripping over the same word.

"What are friends for?" The masked jounin replied with an eye smile.

"We're friends?" Amaris asked leaning closer to look at him as she asked, having figured he'd saw her as a close comrade and nothing more.

"Yea..at least I'd like to think so." He said looking up from his book to eye her curiously.

Amaris smiled so brightly Kakashi had to turn away before he found himself developing a blush or becoming hyper aware of the beautiful kunochi's close proximity to him.

"Well then I'm one step closer to being more than your friend." Amaris said leaning back against the tree actually happy she'd lost their spare otherwise she'd have never known he considered her to be that close to him.

Kakashi looked at the girl curiously and wondered how she could say such things so casually and decided not to comment which he knew she wouldn't mind.

He really did like the girl and often did find himself thinking about her in a romantic sense but at the end of the day he was a shinobi first and being anbu captain didn't exactly give him the free time required to pursue a relationship.

If that were the case he'd of adopted his sensei's son a while ago and raised him as his own eventually being the one to tell him all about his father but sadly his duty to the village came first.

The thought of Naruto reminded Kakashi he hadn't seen the kid in a while and it gave him an idea.

"Hey Amaris, would you like to go visit someone with me later today after we get ourselves cleaned up?" Kakashi asked wondering why he hoped she'd say yes.

The girl turned to look at him with surprise in her eyes before shooting him a pleasant smile and nodding her consent.

"Great, just let me know when you're ready to get going. I know you'll probably want to shower after that battle and I'm gonna go home to change into my civilian clothes so I can really feel like I got some rest on my day off." Kakashi said pleased she agreed.

Amaris chuckled stood up and began stretching which Kakashi was hard pressed not to observe. A part of him regretted reading the toad sages book as he found himself paying far more attention to women lately. Particularly all the curves and contours of their bodies, he wondered if it'd had the same affect on Enu.

"Sorry I made you work on your day off but I've been curious as to why all the shinobi in the village even the clan heads seem to have a high respect for you, but I guess making anbu captain will earn the respect of most shinobi who can recognize you too." The girl said turning to smile at him.

"Huh...I guess so." Kakashi said scratching his cheek thoughtfully as he'd never really put much thought into it.

"I'm ready now honestly but I've gotta tell you something about your sharingan first." Amaris said developing a more serious look.

"Fire away." Kakashi said standing up and wondering what she could tell him about Obito's eye that he didn't already know.

"The eye applies a constant chakra drain on you which I'm sure you already know but I mean even when it's covered and you're not using it. Since the eye is still active it's currently draining your chakra which you probably don't feel since the drain isn't much."

"Your chakra reserves and stamina are probably way lower with that eye than they'd be without it constantly stressing your chakra network." Amaris said looking at his headband.

Kakashi actually hadn't known that, he just thought his reserves were pretty average and he tired out easily.

"Well then I suppose it's worth it in the long run, plus I could never get ride of this eye, I got it from a good friend." Kakashi said as his eye grew kind of sad and he developed a thoughtful look.

Amaris wondered about that story but figured it was linked to a painful memory so she wouldn't asked.

"I'm pretty sure theirs a scroll in the Monogahi library somewhere for sealing dojustu. We could place the seal on your eye allowing you to activate and deactivate it at will so it isn't constantly forcing your chakra network to over compensate." Amaris offered knowing it was the reason he'd ran out of chakra easier than she'd expected from an anbu captain.

Kakashi looked at her in surprise as if he couldn't really believe what she'd said and he hadn't considered the possibility.

"Can your clan really do that?" He asked sounding a bit more hopeful than he'd of liked.

"Actually I don't know but I know we can seal dojustu, I'll ask our librarian and our seal master to look into it when I get back to the conpond and let you know. Where do you want me to meet you once I'm finished cleaning up?" She asked excited to meet another friend of Kakashi's seeing how eccentric the man's best friend and rival Gai proved to be.

"I'll meet you back at your compound since I'll probably be finished getting ready before you. We might as well walk back to the village together though." Kakashi suggested.

"Whatever you say Mask kun." Amaris giggled causing Kakashi to develop a tick mark.

 **Konoha's Police station**

The leaf police chief sat at his desk in the police station filling out the usual paperwork when an Uchiha policeman knocked on the door informing him he had a visitor.

Fugaku keeping most of his focus on his paperwork as usual didn't bother to look up and told the man to allow them in.

The door to the office opened and closed as the visitor came inside making not a single sound. Fugaku immediately stopped writing on his paper feeling a cold presence enter the room he was all too familiar with.

"I must admit this is rather unexpected." Fugaku said sitting his pen down and looking at the man with removed curiousity.

"Indeed it is, I never thought the day would come that'd see me in here asking you of all people for a favor...Uchiha." The man replied in a cold voice looking as unreadable as always.

Fugaku scoffed.

"So what is it exactly you'd like to ask of me...Shimura." He asked addressing Danzo with the same coldness the man had seen fit to use when he addressed him.

Honestly Fugaku would've thrown the man from his office the moment he addressed him had his interest not been peeked when the elder mentioned need of a favor.

"I've read the police reports of your men undergoing a search of council member Alfonz Jugo's house two months ago and coming up empty handed. I'd like to help you and your men in finding the evidence needed to convict the man for his corrupt dealings throughout the village." Danzo said shocking the police chief.

Fugaku had barely managed to keep his face neutral at the offer of help from the man who seemed to have a personal vendetta against the Uchiha for some reason.

"Really... you'd like to be allowed to help me as a favor to you, is that what you're asking?" Fugaku said pinching himself under the table to see if he was having some kind of weird dream or nonsensical nightmare.

Danzo merely nodded probably preferring not to repeat himself or even vocally afirm that he was asking an Uchiha for something.

Least of all Fugaku himself who the man seemed to openly despise seeing as they hardly saw eye to eye and the Uchiha was one of few in the village who didn't hesitate to question or challenge the man openly when he wanted to.

Fugaku kept his eyes on the elder as his thoughts wandered over all the possible reasons he could have to possibly wish for the conviction of the council man Fugaku knew to in no way be a threat to him.

"Your reasoning for wanting to help me with this?" Fugaku questioned wondering if he was just requesting to work with the leaf police to spy on them.

"My reasons are my own." The man said not wanting to share anything with Fugaku.

"You really expect me to allow your assistance when I have no reason as to why you're offering it? Surely you're aware of the fact I trust you just about as much as I trust a rat not to scurry in the dirt." Fugaku said narrowing his eyes at the man.

Danzo frowned figuring the man wouldn't allow his desire to finally convict Jugo to make him look past the reasoning for him offering his help in the matter.

"That man has important information I seek and for him to reveal it to me would be for him to admit his own corruption, which I'm sure he'd never concete to doing. Only if his corruption was already found out would he willingly admit the information it is I'm looking for." Danzo said referring to Anko's origins and her past but unwilling to let the Uchiha know that bit of information.

Fugaku thought it over for a second wondering what the man could possibly know that'd interest a war hound like Danzo.

Weighing the pros and cons, if Danzo could help the leaf police department convict the man they'd have finally delt a major blow to Konoha's corrupt underground, but if Danzo wanted information from the man it couldn't be for a good cause could it?

Meanwhile Danzo was pondering if he should have come here or just went along with his original plan of having the man kidnap and interrogated in one of his NEE facilities.

Of course the man would have been made to talk eventually but afterwards he'd of had to make him disappear and of course the mysterious way he vanished would eventually be traced back to Danzo who was the only person in Konoha besides the Hokage and the anbu captain who could have people abducted within the villages walls with no one noticing.

Danzo would rather not deal with Hiruzen giving him another lecture on why he couldn't have people adbucted and executed for his own intents and purposes, so he ended up using the only other option available to him.

Fugaku seemed to still be thinking over his decision no doubt wary of any kind of partnership with the man and Danzo didn't blame him. After all...he wouldn't trust himself niether were he in Fugaku's shoes.

"If it aids your decision my NEE operatives would work completely separate from you and your detectives, no doubt after you had his house searched the man is being very careful to hide his dealings from the police force. My anbu are able to get into places unhindered by department rules and regulations that those who work under you are bond by." Danzo said hoping to hasten the man's answer and sway his decision towards his favor.

Fugaku looked at the man not bothering to hide the suspicion in his eyes before standing and extending his hand as a show of acceptance.

Danzo resisted the urge to ignore the man's gesture and reach forward to shake the man's hand sealing the deal.

"My men will begin to search immediately for any physical evidence your department can use to form a case against the man. Any evidence we find we be turned over to you and you'll be given full credit for the man's conviction, in exchange I only ask a private audience with the man once he's in your custody so I may find the Information that I seek." Danzo said letting go of the man's hand and walking back towards the door almost surprised the man hadn't taken the opportunity to make an attempt on his life like he'd nearly suspected.

"I find your request to be more than acceptable for your assistance. I'd like to say I'm happy I could rely on your help in this matter but well..." Fugaku trailed off going back to his paperwork as Danzo reached the door to his office.

The elder nearly smirked at his statement knowing working together on anything besides the safety of the village wasn't anything that'd make either of them happy but like the snake said, sometimes sacrifices were necessary to reach certain ends.

"Likewise." He commented before exiting the police station.

Close to the border of the land of lightning

All the shinobi escorts sent by Kumo lay dead on the ground around them.

Hatsue was personally responsible for the death of one of them, a chunin around her age who'd died honorably in battle for his village but admittedly wasn't her first shinobi kill probably wouldn't be her last. She didn't feel his death as much as she'd felt the death of the first ninja she killed, or the deaths of the three thugs back in Konoha.

The woman who stood in front of Hatsue though unlike them all looked absolutely terrified and as far as Hatsue knew she'd done nothing wrong. It was possible she had a good reason to give important information pertaining to her village in exchange for money and an escort away from the land of fire.

Hatsue didn't know but she knew the woman was backed against a tree looking horrified as she cried and begged for her life.

She'd been on jobs like this before but she'd never been the one to execute the civilian. Even though the woman was a traitor to the land of fire Hatsue didn't want innocent blood on her hands, unfortunately though her squad leader ordered her to do the deed and he stood behind her waiting for the kill.

She knew that if she didn't do it Danzo would order her to redo the first field mission she'd been assigned to prove herself worthy of real NEE operations again which consisted of a journey to a hostile land where she had to find a loan enemy shinobi kill him and destroy any evidence of having ever been there while supervised by a veteran NEE operative.

That was Hatsue's first ever shinobi kill and the look of shock and despair on the man's face as his life faded still haunted the Uchiha girl to this day.

After being inside Danzo's organization for only two months now she'd seen a lot of things she'd likely never forget and even killed three people. This woman if she choose to follow orders would be the fourth kill she got while in NEE.

Hatsue knew she was gaining a lot of experience and learning valuable team shinobi tactics as well as a number of stealth and infiltration skills but it was taking a toll on her phscy already. She wasn't trained to be completely void of emotion and feeling like the rest of these operatives and it was showing on her now more than ever.

She reminded herself she was doing this for not only Inoha and Imari but Anko and Lord Fugaku as well, she gripped her kunai tighter ensuring herself that she was doing the right thing.

Feeling the sting of tears in her eyes she mouthed the words 'I'm sorry' even though she knew the woman wouldn't see them through the blank NEE mask she wore.

She brought her kunai up swiftly and slashed the woman's throat. Her mask was sprayed with blood and her heart became one kill heavier than it'd been when they embarked on this mission.

She kneeled there looking into the woman's lifeless eyes and realized she'd just killed a part of herself as well.

She would have stayed like that for a while if she hadn't felt her squad leader nudge her and turned to see him giving her one of the signals the NEE opperatives used to communicate.

"Move out."

Was what he said without using words and Hatsue stood still looking at the woman's bloody corpse and lifeless eyes before leaping into the tree's behind her squad careful not to smash into one as her tears continued falling freely.

Was what she doing really worth it? She always wanted to learn to be a shinobi but it seemed like as of now she was learning to be a killer or rather a weapon without feelings.

Nubutaka didn't know she was engaging in these types of missions, he didn't even know she'd gotten her first kill, what would he think? Would her parents be proud or appalled at the kunochi she was becoming?

How would the twins even look at her if they knew she'd killed a woman too weak to even attempt to fight back, taken the life of a shinobi who'd been on his way home from a mission and suddenly found two kunai in his chest.

She was becoming a monster, something no one would be proud of but what was she doing it for? The girl questioned herself.

She figured it was likely because she'd already started and she knew there to be no turning back for her now.

 **Underground NEE facility**

Anko spared with the same man she'd been sparing with since she'd been formally adopted by Danzo. Although still being physically punished by the man it was clear to anyone who observed she was getting better quickly.

Everytime she was knocked to the floor she'd get back up and prove harder to knock down although the NEE opperative was going easy on her as he was told to he still put enough force into every punch and kick to make them hurt while still hardly letting the girl touch him.

That only proved to motivate her more as her attacks were constantly getting quicker and more precise nearly on a daily basis.

Orochimaru watched the girl with interest admiring her inner strength and determination, no doubt if taught under the right instructor the girl would make a splendid shinobi.

He'd taken a bit of time during his breaks from research to check on the girls inprovment the last few days finding himself developing an interest in the bright young kunochi in training.

What really interested him though was the fact that she didn't train with the other orphans Danzo's organization took and made into weapons.

What made this girl so different he wondered. He made a mental note to ask the man later the next time he stopped by the lab.

The snake man smirked as he began to walk back towards the lab Danzo had gifted him for their little project.

 _"Hmm...maybe once I'm finished with this little experiment of ours I'll finally see fit to take an apprentice."_ The man thought deciding to speak with the girl directly the next time he got a chance rather than ask Danzo about it and likely have his question ignored.

 **Konoha**

Kakashi arrived at the Monogahi compound after taking a quick shower and changing into some civilians clothes.

He wore a pair of regular white shorts coupled with a blue short sleeved shinobi undershirt with the usual headband and mask that extended up to cover half his face and had the symbol of the leaf on the back, wearing a pair of regular blue shinobi sandals.

Besides the shorts nothing about his outfit was really considered civilian attire but he considered this casual form of dress to be something of the sort.

He knocked on the door and was ushered in by a friendly servant that answered and told him he was free to wait in the lobby.

He sat on one of the lobbies comfortable chairs reading through Jiriya's first book he'd come home to find a copy of, but didn't find it quite as good as the one he'd read first.

He could say he found the writing to be good and the plot an excellent way to explain some of the hardships and problems that not only faced the ninja world but also shinobi in general but the book just wasn't a page turner like the man's Icha Icha book.

After waiting in the lobby for a short while he looked to his right feeling eyes on him and saw Amaris in a navy blue short sleeved shirt with white flowers to the left underneath some rain drops falling on the same side that made it look very unique and stylish, a white skirt that reached just below her knee's and had a blue strip going down the left, with comfortable looking sandals on her feet that had blue straps and showed off the blue polish on her toes.

She also had a blue hair tie and some pins in her head that held her hair up, her entire outfit with the sapphire diamonds hanging from her ear loabs made Kakashi feel slightly underdressed as he took in her appearance.

"Well I guess I don't need to ask what your favorite color is." Kakashi said still holding his book open but paying it no mind as he stood up.

"Of course not silly, it's silver just like you're hair." She said smiling and stepping closer.

"Although I'd be flattered if you asked in an attempt to get to know me better." She grinned reaching up so she could play with his hair.

"Please don't do that." Kakashi said not really minding and finding he really liked the playful smile she had in place of the usual micheveous one.

"You look really nice, wish you'd of told me dress up for the occasion." Kakashi said wondering why he was looking at the girl slightly different from how he usually would.

Amaris was beautiful and that was something he'd always noticed, he didn't know what seemed so different about her now.

The Monogahi woman blushed at the complement and beamed causing Kakashi's heart to jump in his chest for a moment as he realized he was gazing upon Amaris for the first time and seeing her as a woman rather than a kunochi.

"Why thank you Kakashi kun! You're just as handsome as always even with that mask of yours, makes me wonder what's underneath." She said with a playful grin.

Kakashi did a double take replaying what she'd just said making sure he'd heard her right.

"So you finally decided to use my name." Kakashi said smiling in victory underneath the mask.

"Your name? Surely you're hearing things, I only recall calling you mask kun just like always mask kun." She said as her playfully grin became a faked smile of innocence.

"Haha." Kakashi said laughing sarcastically. "Just you wait till the day I come up with an annoying name for you, you'll regret all those mask kuns."

Amaris began to chuckle at him lightly before grabbing his hand much to his surprise and leading him out of the compond. Letting go of his hand and sliding her arm through his before they began their walk.

"No I won't because by then you'll be mines and I'll be yours so it'll be a cute nickname instead of an annoying one." She said shooting him an adorable smile.

"Besides mask kun is a cute nickname for you and you probably like it. Show me what's underneath and then maybe I'll start calling you something else." Amaris said smiling micheveously as they continued walking towards Konoha's main street.

Kakashi began thinking about it before shaking his head no deciding he preferred the mystery and could live with the nickname.

"See I told you you liked it!" Amaris teased as if his refusal proved her point.

"Kakashi groaned but was inwardly suppressing a smile. Originally he thought the girl would be another starstruck kunochi who's infatuation with him would only grow annoying like the girls back in his academy days but he had to admit she was really growing on him.

She wasn't like the girls from his academy days at all, she was strong, she was intelligent and empathetic, she pestered him sometimes but never to the point of it actually bothering him, and she put her duty as a shinobi before anything.

He found himself respecting and admiring the girl in a way he'd honestly never expected.

"So who're we going to see Mask kun?" Amaris said poking Kakashi in the cheek with a cheeky grin causing his face to develop a comical look of irritation as he came to the realization when she was pestering or annoying him she seemed to be doing it on purpose.

He sighed knowing there was no helping it, he'd already walked with his hands tied into the foxes den and there was no escaping now.

 **Hokages Office**

"So you'd like me to begin training this boy when he turns five?" Nubutaka asked Hiruzen looking at a picture of a blonde kid with blue eyes and whiskers.

"Yes if you haven't already found yourself overburdened by your current number of students." The Hokage said knowing the man might have some questions as to why but he likely wouldn't resist as he'd never turned down an offer to train someone as of yet.

Nubutaka sighed but inwardly smiled glad he was being entrusted with the education of so many future ninja but at the same time wary of just how many students would be placed under him.

 _"Wait a minute this kid looks familiar."_ The Monogahi thought looking closer at the picture of the boy trying to figure out where he'd seen him before.

 _"No way it can't be."_ He thought looking up at the Hokage then back down at the picture.

"Hokage sama, would this boy by any chance happen to be of relation to the fourth Hokage?" He asked unsure if he'd believe the man if he said no.

Hiruzen sighed hoping he wouldn't notice but figuring it couldn't be helped.

"Indeed he is..his only son in fact, which Naruto himself isn't even aware of seeing as it's an S rank secret among those who know as is his Jinchuriki status."

Nubutaka was stunned silent for a moment as the weight of the man's words sunk in.

"Lord Hokage it's not that I don't appreciate this honor but aren't there other people more qualified? I heard the sannin returned to the village a short while ago, surely having the same man that taught the kids father would be more appropriate than asking me." Nubutaka said shocked he was actually being asked to oversee the training of such a valuable village asset.

"Indeed it is but Naruto needs to be on a certain level before he can began training with Jiriya, I've already discussed this with the man and he agrees you'd likely be the best candidate for Naruto to begin his shinobi training with."

""Plus seeing as you already have a hand in training prodigies from the Hyuga and the Uchiha I feel if Naruto is seen to be training alongside them the villagers may become more accepting of him." Hiruzen said surprised the man wasn't jumping at the opportunity to train the fourths son.

"Well then how could I refuse training such an important shinobi, the fourth was my idol after all." Nubutaka said rubbing the back of his neck actually nervous to receive such an important task.

Hiruzen smiled having never seen the man nervous before and figuring he had good reason to be.

"No need to worry, I'm sure young Naruto will easily take to your training. The boy is very smart for his age and he could also use more friends and social interaction as he's despised and shunned by most of the villagers because of the incident, I'm sure your clan could help him with that." Hiruzen said having complete faith in the man.

Nubutaka smiled feeling his nerves ease up a bit. "You can count on me, I'll be sure he's at an early genin level by the time he reaches the academy age. How old is the kid anyway?"

"He just turned four last month and was actually able to celebrate his birthday with others for the first time in his life. I would have asked you sooner but I know you've been busy as of late and so have I quite frankly." Hiruzen said glad the man was up to the task as he thought he'd be.

"Oh that's sad." The clan head said looking off into space thoughtfully. "Mind if me and my little cousins go introduce ourselves to the little guy now?" He asked sounding hopeful.

"Not at all here's his new apartment number. He's been staying with his father's teacher the past two months, remember you're to say nothing to Naruto about who his parents are." Hiruzen said smiling as he handed Nubutaka the paper with the boy address already figuring the clan head would reach out to the boy when he realized he didn't have many people in his life.

"Got it Hokage sama, my lips are sealed." Nubutaka said grinning at the chance to make a new friend and meet his new student.

He took the paper Hiruzen offered him and sunk into his own shadow.

 **Shimura compond**

"Hey...Imari."

"Yea...Inoha?" Imari said answering her sister between swings.

"You...think...father...has..been- Acck!" Inoha coughed as Imari punched her hard in the stomach making the girl double over.

Imari huffed angrily and crossed her arms.

"Come on sis! Don't get distracted during spares how are we supposed to keep up with the others at this rate!" The girl yelled at her sister.

""I know...I'm sorry... I just-" Inoha didn't finish her sentence as she held her stomach trying to ease the pain and catch her breath.

"Imari's face soften as she stood over her twin sister looking at her pained expression.

"I'm sorry sis, you've just got to be more aware, in a real battle no one is going to go easy on you because you were distracted and wanted to have a conversation." Imari said stooping down and placing a hand on her sisters back wishing she hadn't hit her so hard.

"I know sis, I'm sorry." Inoha said grateful her sister didn't capitalize on her pain or look down on her for her mistake like their father would have wanted had he been present.

"Geeze, Anko Chan was right. You apologise too much." Imari said smirking at her sister.

"She was talking about you too!" Inoha shot back now sitting up straight but still clutching her stomach.

"Ya know Inoha, you're too soft that punch shouldn't hurt that much. I'll go get you some water." Imari said standing and running towards the kitchen not giving her sister any time to protest or deny her claim.

Inoha just leaned back and sat there holding her stomach as she wondered why it seemed like their father hadn't been paying her and her sister as much attention as of late when the answer walked right into the room and called her by name.

"Hey Inoha, Imari's still not pulling her punches as much as you I see." Anko said walking into the training room and smiling at the girl.

Inoha just stared at her for a second making Anko feel weird. "Why are you staring at me like that?" Anko asked sitting down next to her younger adoptive sister wondering if something was wrong.

"Oh.. it's...nothing." Inoha said looking away.

"Imari is a better liar than you you know." Anko said matter of factly.

Inoha frowned. "Imari is better than me at everything which is why father always favored her and now he favors you over both of us." The girl said with a voice full of resentment till she realized she just let her thoughts slip and clamped a hand to her mouth.

Anko raised an eyebrow and tilted her head. "Is that why you were staring at me like that?"

Anko started laughing at the girl making Inoha blush lightly in embarrassment.

"Trust me you two are really his favorites, he only favours me because I can be his ideal of a kunochi and by being around you two you'll likely pick up on some of my habits. Most of my days are spent having my ass handed to me by the same NEE operative over and over again, I've gotten bruise's and broken bones but he doesn't like when people so much as scratch either of you too badly which is why he usually has you two train only with each other and Lord Nubutaka."

"You're the gems of the family...if that's what you'd call what we are, it's just...father's a very busy man and he knows as long as Nubutaka is training you and he and his NEE operatives train me and Hatsue well you two will definitely turn out to be excellent kunochi. Don't take his absence personally take it as faith that you're on the right path although it may not specifically be the path he'd prefer either of you to be on." Anko said sounding rather sage like as she spoke and Inoha's eyes widened.

"Wow Anko Chan, how'd you get so smart?" Inoha said mystified at her older sister who grinned at the complement.

"I'm just good at all observing things I guess I really couldn't say, but I'm proud of you guys either way and I know Hatsue Chan is too." Anko said trying not to let a frown slide on her face as she recalled the broken look in Hatsue's eyes when she'd returned from her mission not too long ago.

"Thanks Anko Ne-san." Inoha said smiling and hugging her sister who chuckled and winced quickly after feeling the after effects from today's training.

"Onee-Chan?" Imari said when she rounded the corner and saw Inoha sitting with Anko.

"Hey sis." Anko said smiling fondly at Imari.

"What are you doing home so early, did dad let you finish your training early today?" Imari said excited to see finally see Anko not exhausted although the girl did have a number of cuts on her face and she was probably heavily bruised under the purple kimono she wore.

"No I just wanted to come home. Father said in the afternoon I can leave and come train with you two since your taijustu skills are still ahead of mine but I always decide to stay and train there because I can't wait to finally be able to land a hit on that smug bastard 122." Anko said with a smirk.

"Did you finally land a hit on him?" Imari asked passing Inoha her water and sitting down next to them.

"Nooo...unfortunately not...but it'll come eventually so I'm not gonna rush it. I just felt like coming home early today, this creepy snake guy kept watching me an-." Anko said then quickly slammed her mouth shut remembering she wasn't supposed to speak of anything that happened in any of her father's Ninja facilities.

Imari looked at her curiously when she stopped as Inoha was too busy drowning her water to notice.

"And what sis?" Imari asked picking up her sentence.

"Oh it's nothing Imari its ju-" Anko stopped talking noticing a presence behind them and quickly pulled a kunai from the leg holster under her kimono.

"With a speed that was very impressive considering she only begun training two months ago she turned and her kunai clashed with anothers.

"It's nice to see you too Anko Chan I hope you don't greet everyone that way." Nubutaka said smiling at the girl he hadn't seen in a while.

"Nubutaka...sorry you kind of snuck up on us and my first instinct was to protect Inoha and Imari." Anko said lowering her kunai and rubbing the back of her head a bit sheepishly.

"Seems like she's developed a bit more of a cheery disposition now that she isn't living on the streets anymore." Nubutaka thought recalling how the girl hardly ever smiled when he'd first meant her.

"Sorry I've kind of got a fun habit of doing that."

"What are you here for so late in the day Nubu sama?" Imari asked causing Nubutaka to develop a tick mark.

Two minutes later he had the girl in a headlock running his knuckle against her scalp with an evil smirk.

""Ahhh!" Come oon stop!" Imari whinned.

"I told you a hundred times dear little cousin, no honorifics!" Nubutaka said as Inoha and Anko laughed at their sisters distress.

"You're so mean! Come ooon I won't do it again!" She pleaded with the man.

"You promise?"

"I promise!" Imari said Anko and Inoha noticing she'd crossed her fingers.

Nubutaka let her go and she got a good distance away before frowning and poking out her tongue.

"Stupid Buta sama."

"Now you've done it!" Nubutaka said smiling evilly ready to torture his cousin with another nuggy before she quickly formed the hand signs to a familiar justu disappeared into her own shadow.

Nubutaka stopped in his tracks surprised she'd done it so easily.

"BOO!" She shouted from behind the man causing him to jump not out of surprise but for his poor eardrums.

"Owww." That's gonna hurt my head later Nubutaka said hoping he didn't developed a headache.

"Serves you right." Imari said sticking out her tongue again.

"As much as I'd love to get you back for that I came here to ask you two if you'd like to go visit a kid I'll be training when he turns five next year. Since you're here Anko you can come too if you'd like."

"Sure!" The sisters all said in unison although the younger two definitely seemed more excited then the oldest who found herself chuckling at their childish demeanor.

 **Naruto's apartment**

""Coming!" A voice sounded from behind the door eventually opening to reveal a man with long white hair and a oil kanji head band.

"Yo." Kakashi greeted.

""Ahh, nice to see you kids took my advice and got hitched." Jiriya said eyeing Amaris with Kakashi and the matching civilians clothes.

Kakashi sighed as Amaris chuckled and blushed a bit not really minding the man's continuous suggestion.

"We haven't gotten married." Kakashi said not dettering Jiriya in the slightest.

"Well nice to see you kids finally started dating." The man said smiling at the two causing Amaris to chuckle again as Kakashi sighed.

"We aren't dating we're just spending the day with with each other." Kakashi said realizing how much that made it sound like they were on some sort of date.

Jiriya just started grinning at the pair causing Kakashi to let out a heavier sign this time as Amaris full on burst into laughter this time.

"Is Naruto home." Kakashi asked knowing he would get anywhere with these two.

"Sure..kids been bothering me about going to go get some ramen all day but I told him not till he learns some more shinobi world history first but I guess it could wait. You kids tryna take him off my hands for a while and maybe go get some ramen? It'll give me a chance to conduct some well needed research." Jiriya said releashing the opportunity as he hadn't conducted any 'research' in the two months he'd been in Konoha since he took Naruto everywhere with him.

"If it's in the name of science of course!" Amaris chimed in before Kakashi could reply.

"Great! Hey Naruto you wanna go get some ramen!?" Jiriya called.

"You bet!" A voice said coming from the small apartment.

A small boy with blonde hair and whisker marks appeared in the doorway and hearts appeared in Amaris's eyes.

"Oh my goodness he's soo cuute!" Amaris gushed pushing past Jiriya to smoother the small boy in hugs and cuddles.

"Well I guess that settles that." Jiriya said with a huge grin handing Kakashi his wallet and the key to the apartment.

"Meals on me! Just send one of your ninja hounds to find me when you guys are done." He said disappearing in a flicker.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked after a moment feeling comfortable with the two considering the hugs and cuddles and the man's familiar presence, plus they promised him ramen but he was still curious.

"Just look at me Naruto, anything ring a bell?" Kakashi asked stooping down so he was level with him.

Naruto stared at him for a minute before noticing the silver hair and the mask.

"Inu!" Naruto said calling Kakashi by his anbu name and jumping on the man's back causing Kakashi to smile and close the apartment door.

"Be sure to only call me Kakashi when we're out in public, kay Naruto?"

"You bet Kaka-, what'd you say your name was again?" Naruto asked sheepishly causing Kakashi to smile and repeat himself.

"What ramen stand do you want to go to?" Amaris asked thinking Naruto and Kakashi looked ten times more adorable together.

"That's an easy one!" Naruto said with a smile that was brighter than the sun.

"Ichiraku's!"

The group began walking towards Ichiraku's with Naruto asking the two about their lives. Kakashi being an anbu from a young age and fighting in the third great shinobi war really didn't have many glorious stories to tell but the Uzumaki loved hearing about Amaris's village and her family.

"Do you think maybe I could go see your village one day or meet your family?" The blonde asked looking hopeful.

Amaris smiled and told him she'd love to but only if Naruto promised he'd pay attention to the lessons he was supposed to be learning from Jiriya because they were really important.

The blonde boy begrudgingly agreed causing Amaris to chuckle and Kakashi to smirk. As the group got closer to Ichiraku's Naruto and Amaris were too invested in talking to one another but some of the villagers would stop and stare at them.

Some of them shooting hateful glares at Naruto till they came face to face with Kakashi's threatening glare. Much to his surprise though a lot of the women would gaze at them with adoration and talk amongst themselves about how he and Amaris made a lovely couple, they wondered if they'd adopted the demon brat as they called Naruto.

Kakashi did his best to ignore them glad Naruto and Amaris were paying no mind to their surroundings as they each held the others undivided attention.

They arrived at Ichiraku's and Naruto jumped from Kakashi's back looking excited as he ran into the shop calling to the manager and his daughter.

 _"Minato sensei used to always liked to eat here."_ Kakashi said to himself thinking fondly of his sensei and his team.

Amaris had already walked in the shop and was having a friendly conversation with Techui and Ayame.

Kakashi walked in behind the two and raised the stool in between where he figured Amaris would sit and where he'd sit figuring it'd be best for Naruto to sit in the middle.

Techui look at Kakashi and recognition dawned on the man's face.

"Kakashi is that you?" The man asked Kakashi who figured the silver hair and the mask likely had to be a dead give away.

"Yea it's me Techui, nice to see you after all these years." Kakashi said smiling fondly at the friendly man who never forgot a face.

"Likewise! After what happened to Minato I don't think I ever saw you again. Although I can understand considering he did eat here a lot and you'd probably want to avoid the memories. How you got away from the addictive qualities of my magical ramen though I'll never know!" The man said laughing at his own joke causing Naruto and Amaris to chuckle./p

Naruto laughed because he knew first hand how addictive the man's ramen was and Ayame laughed at the man tooting his own horn although she did have to admit it smelled pretty delicious.

"Hehe, honestly I don't know either." Kakashi said taking in the lovely aroma and feeling a sense of nostalgia and sadness at the same time remembering all the times he and his team used to eat here.

Amaris noticed this and slide her hand across the table shooting Kakashi a comforting smile when he turned to face her. In that moment Kakashi was truly grateful to have had meant this kunochi and agreeing to spend the day with her.

Techui had noticed the man's turn in mood too though and decided he'd wouldn't make anymore mentions of the old days knowing Kakashi probably had a bunch of painful memories considering out of his whole team he was the only remaining survivor.

Luckily Naruto was too busy reading the menu to notice since it wasn't everyday he was treated to ramen.

"Right! I'll have one of everything!" The boy said putting down the menu looking at Techui with excitement in his eyes.

"Uhm are you sure you'll be able to eat all of that Naruto?" Amaris said looking up from her menu glad that Kakashi hadn't yet let go of her hand but sad that this place seemed to bring up painful memories for the anbu captain.

"You bet, and then I'll probably still be able to go for seconds. Believe it!"

Amaris Techui and Ayame started laughing at the quirky blonde causing Kakashi to develop a small chuckle of his own as his mood began to lighten again.

 _"Maybe I can make new memories of fondness here with these two, it was sensei's favorite shop after all I bet he'd appreciate me bringing Naruto here whenever I have the time."_ Kakashi thought putting down his menu too and ordering the meal that had always been Obito's favorite.

About an hour later they'd all finished eating and were headed back to Naruto's apartment as Kakashi carried Naruto on his back and could swear the kid put on five pounds.

Needless to say both him and Amaris had been shocked when the blonde had really eaten everything on the menu and then asked for two more bowls of miso ramen with two slices of pork and had finished them too. Techui hadn't been surprised though as he whispered to Kakashi when Naruto and Amaris were talking with Ayame that his mother had the same appetite if not worse.

When the group finished Techui and Ayame expressed their gratitude at them coming and told them they hoped to see them again to which Kakashi assured them they would.

Amaris and Kakashi were walking back to Naruto's apartment in silence as the boy was fast asleep on the silver haired jounins shoulders apparently having tired himself out after putting a dent in the toad sages wallet.

The sun had just set and it was getting a bit cold out but neither Kakashi nore Amaris really seemed to mind.

Kakashi turned to Amaris and saw her gazing at the sky. He continued to watch the moonlight dance around in her eyes for a moment until she noticed his stare and brought her gaze down to look at him curiously causing the man to look away quickly.

She just chuckled but said nothing about it and they continued on their way in a comfortable silence.

When they arrived at the apartment Kakashi went inside and laid Naruto in his bed before walking back outside and hearing Amaris talking to someone on the roof.

He closed the door gently and leapt down onto the street so he could summon Pakkun without waking Naruto.

Once he'd sent the pug off to find the sannin he leapt up to the roaf and saw Amaris talking with a group consisting of three young girls, two nearly being identical in appearance and having snow white hair that matched the mans in group who no doubt was a shinobi if the clothes and the Monogahi eblem on his shirt was anything to go off of. The other girl had dark purple hair with a matching kimono but appeared as if she wasn't related to the others besides them all having fair skin.

Kakashi stood where he was not wanting to interrupt when one of the white haired girls noticed him and pointed in his direction.

Amaris turned and smiled at the man beconing him towards them.

He walked towards the group and bowed respectfully when he was in front of them not knowing who they were and not wanting to seem disrespectful in front of her family.

"There's no need for that Kakashi my family isn't uptight like most of the other noble clans." Amaris commented still appreciating him being respectful.

"Nubutaka this is Kakashi Hatake, Kakashi this is my clan head Nubutaka Monogahi." Amaris said introducing them before the others.

"So you're the famous copy ninja I've read about in the bingo book, nice to finally meet you." Nubutaka said standing and shaking the man's hand with a friendly smile.

"Likewise, I think Amaris and Yukushia are the only Monogahi I've ever meant." Kakashi said surprised that her clan head was so young. He had to be right around their age if he wasn't mistaken.

That or the man just aged gracefully.

"And these three are Anko, Imari, and Inoha Shimura, Danzo's adopted daughters. Imari and Inoha are Monogahi and you could say Anko is a family friend who doesn't visit the compond enough." Amaris said with a teasing smile.

"I've told you guys training keeps me busy." Anko said defensively but she had a smirk as she spoke.

"Baaah! Hamura says you're just scared he'll whoop you in another eating contest." Amaris said with a cat like grin.

"What!? Next time I'll show that baka who'll whoop who!" Anko said looking outraged causing the group to snicker.

"Hey Kakashi, kids inside sleeping I take it? Jiriya said landing beside him on the roof.

"Yea he's out like a lamp. Practically ate himself to death on your treat." Kakashi said tossing the man his wallet.

"I was afraid of that but at least he got to get out and enjoy himself." Jiriya sighed but still smiled fondly placing his wallet back in his pocket.

"Hey you're Nubutaka right?" Jiriya said addressing the Monogahi man.

"Yes, it's an honor to meet to Jiriya sama." The man said bowing respectfully to the sannin who waved a hand dismissively.

"Please, please, no need for formalities. I find them painfully annoying to deal with, but it's nice to meet the guy who'll be teaching Naruto till Kakashi here gets him." Jiriya said walking over and shaking Nubutaka's hand.

Nubutaka grinned deciding he liked the man already.

""Wait I'll be teaching Naruto?" Kakashi asked curiously.

"Yup the old man's already made up his mind, after the kid graduates the academy he'll be passed off from Nubutaka to you and after you he'll undergo special training with me although technically you'll both always be his sensei's."

"Well I suppose by the time he graduates the academy I'll have already been forced to retire from the anbu so it doesn't start having long lasting phycological effects...I suppose that may be something to look forward to." Kakashi said with a smile.

"That's good to hear, nice speaking with you guys but I'm beat and I'm about to go turn in." Jiriya said yawning and waving to the group as he walked towards the edge of the roof and leapt down.

"Likewise." Both men said in unison.

"Sorry we stole your chance to meet Naruto today." Amaris said apologizing again.

"Oh it's no problem there's always tomorrow after we've finished our morning training session, although I suppose Anko will have to meet him some other time." Nubutaka said looking to the girl.

""I don't mind." Anko said with a shrug.

"Well then tomorrow it is." Nubutaka said smiling at Imari and Inoha who grinned in return.

"I'll be taking these three home. Catch you later Amaris and nice meeting you again Kakashi, I hope we can get to see more of each other and maybe even get a sparing match in sometime in the future."

"Likewise." Kakashi said returning the man's smile.

""Later Amaris, nice meeting you Mask kun." The twins said snickering causing Amaris to chuckle and Kakashi to sigh.

"Later." Kakashi said waving at the girls with a friendly smile.

Nubutaka leapt from the roof and the girls followed his lead leaving the two silver haired nin alone.

Kakashi turned to Amaris who smiled playfully at the man.

"You aren't funny." Kakashi said being unable to help his small grin.

"It's not meant to be funny to you." She giggled and the two leapt from the roof.

"I'll walk you home." Kakashi said not wanting to leave the girl just yet as tomorrow it was back to anbu duties and it'd be a while before he got another day off.

Usually anbu captains didn't even get days off but the Hokage actually forced him to take this one saying it would be good for him. He was reluctant at first but now he was grateful and made a mental note to reminded himself to thank the man tomorrow.

Amaris nodded appreciatively and the two walked in comfortable silence all the way up until they reached the front doors of the Monogahi compond.

Amaris turned to face him and Kakashi could only admire the way the moonlight seemed to get trapped in her eyes and reflect off her silver hair.

"I really enjoyed today, thank you for inviting me to eat with you." The girl said smiling fondly at him with her hands behind her back.

"Don't mention it I'm really glad I did, you honestly made today the best day I've had in a while and I really appreciate what you did for me in Ichiraku's. It may not seem like much but that small gesture of compassion and understanding really meant the world to me." Kakashi said trying to remind himself as an anbu captain it'd be unwise to pursue a relationship with this woman.

All he wanted to do at the moment was capture her lips and show her just how much it'd meant.

 _"Maybe that book really did affect me in a way I hadn't really noticed I wouldn't call it a corruption though like Yukushia and Lady Tsunade."_ Kakashi thought.

"Don't mention it Mask kun it was the least I could do." She said smiling playfully again as her heart thumped in her chest at his words.

Kakashi started to chuckle at the nickname for the first time ever surprising even himself.

For a moment they both stood in silence niether really wanting to leave till Amaris lean forward and planted a kiss on Kakashi's cheek.

"Be sure to tell me the next time you get a day off, Kakashi. I'd really like to spend some more time with you when I can." She said turning and opening the door to her compond.

""Yeah... I'll be sure to." Kakashi said hoping she couldn't see his blush underneath his mask.

"Goodnight Amaris."

"Goodnight Kakashi." She said sparing him one last glance before stepping inside the compond and gently shutting the door.

Kakashi exhaled a breath he didn't know he had been holding and decided to walk home and savoir the beautiful night around him and the feeling that the beautiful woman had given him.

Amaris slumped against the door after she'd closed it and tried to calm the rapid pace of her heart as she smiled knowing with a certainty that she would never forget tonight.

 **Explaination:** _Okay so when I tried updating this chapter three days ago for some reason a lot of computer coding was inserted between literally every line and all my spaces were erased. I said I was going to upload this chapter yesterday and I'm sorry for that fixing it took longer than I anticipated_.

 **Current main character ages**

 **Kakashi-20**

 **Amaris-21**

 **Yukushia-22**

 **Gai-dunno how old he was in the series so I'm gonna say 23 here**

 **Jiriya-41**

 **Tsunade-40**

 **Hamura-7**

 **Shisui-8**

 **Itachi-7**

 **Anko-8**

 **Imari and Inoha-6**

 **Neji-6**

 **Naruto-4**

 **Hinata-3 she's coming soon be patient**

 **Sasuke-just turned 3**

 **Nubutaka-25**

 **Hatsue-23**

 **Fugaku (and most of the other clan heads)-mid to early thirties I'll leave it up to your imagination not really relevant anyway**

 **Shikono Nara-36**

 **Danzo/Hiruzen-doesn't really hold any importance**

 **Jusino-9**

 **Lilly-4**

 **Let me know if I forgot anyone who's age you're curious about.**

 **Authors notes**

 **Hey guys sorry it took me so long to update, I've been going through some things lately but I wo n't bore any of you with my sob story, I promised Naruto in the next chapter but since I put him in this chapter I guess I'll skip the three year time skip and likely just keep to the normal monthly one's as a way to flesh out the story more.**

 **I wanted to make this chapter longer but the longer the chapters the harder they are for me to proof read and upload so I had to stop at 30K words originally I cute the other ending of this chapter out because honestly I didn't feel like erasing anymore code and this can serve just as well for a way to end a chapter. I likely won't be making chapters this long again my usual goal is 8-13K but I actually liked doing the long chapter thing feel like I got a lot done in it so I may do some more this long but it'll probably be rare lol**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter please read and review with any ideas questions or comments. Besides griping about grammar and spelling errors please don't be that person if the writing is eligible enough for you to finish the chapter then you have no real reason to complain other than just nitpicking someone who honestly tried their best.**

 **Seriously though when I get pms or reviews where people are just complaining about petty stuff it honestly makes me want to leave the story alone but I would never do that seeing how many people are enjoying it so far I appreciate the love guys even though** **I know my writing is far from perfect.**

 **Constructive criticism is good but whinning about small stuff is aggravating and it kills my motivation to continue writing for a while when that's all I usually see or hear from ppl but to those of you who enjoy the story I'm very grateful and I hope you continue to do so.**

 **Fun fact #5**

 **There are still parts of the original story that'll be in this I have written but haven't uploaded yet like Itachi Shisue and Hamura's chunin exams and the events leading up to a time skip that'll take us a few years into the future, but since this fic isn't strictly for me anymore I can't just rush certain parts of the story and expect everyone to follow. I've gotta flesh things out and make the story and the plot itself look more presentable and enticing to readers. All of chapters 4-6 are completely fresh 1-3 take and reuse parts from the original fic chapter 1 is nearly written entirely the same as it was originally since that chapter was just the intro and there really wasn't a need to change much. Some future chapters will also take from the original writtings as I have about two chapters of material written that'll eventually be picked apart and reinserted into the story where it fits best.**


	8. Chapter 8

**To** **everyone that told me I shouldn't quit I really appreciate it. Sometimes I can be really sensitive to the opinions of others a few bad apples eventually convinced me that the story was bad and I should just give up. Honestly I don't think I ever really intended to stop but I honestly wanted to for a short period of time, hopefully those who seem to despise this fic for whatever reason will just stop reading instead of commenting or PM'ing me hateful things.** **I really appreciate all your support guys.**

 **Last chapter showed me I really like writing in the third person so I'll be doing that from now on hope you guys like** **it.**

 **This chapter will also feature a special guest I'm sure you all know but didn't expect to show up in the story. They'll be a part of our main cast from this point on so expect to see more of them.**

New connections

 **Hokages office** **: The day after**

Jiriya had just finished speaking with Hiruzen who just as he thought sounded delighted at the prospect of helping a group of young street urchins.

"These kids would have to be provided with adequate supervision though." The Hokage said stating his one requirement for granting his students request.

"I've actually taken that thought into consideration as well but who in the leaf who isn't busy is tough enough to supervise a gang of kids who grew up on the streets?" Jiriya asked hoping his sensei would have a candidate in mind.

"I was actually hoping you had an idea...no doubt it'll need to be someone firm, but I think the kids could get much benefit from a gentle touch as well." Hiruzen said pulling on his chin hair thoughtfully.

"Maybe we could put some flyers up ove-"

Jiriya's sentence was cut short when a certain blonde haired kunochi came bursting into the office.

"Darn right shameful how your med nin seem to be less competent than the civilian doctors at that hospital." Tsunade huffed.

"Have that Nubutaka guy add medical ninjustu to the academy extra curricular course list as well." The sannin said crossing her arms and stretching out lazily on the couch Hiruzen kept to the right wall in his office.

Jiriya and Sarutobi both shared a look before turning back to Tsunade who'd just finished stretching and was now looking at them curiously.

"What? Is there something on my face or something?" She asked raising an eyebrow.

"Hey hime, remember how when we were younger you said you always wanted to work with kids right?" Jiriya asked growing kind of nervous as he had no idea how the short tempered woman would react to his next question.

"Yeaah..." Tsunade replied narrowing her eyes at the question not liking where this conversation seemed to be headed.

"Well yesterday I went with Naruto to meet the only group of kids he could actually claim to be friends with and turns out their urchins."

Tsunade nodded her eyes telling the man to go on.

"Three of the kids wanna become shinobi which would've inevitably split their gang up sooner than usual whether they knew it or not. I told the leader I'd help find them all some placeplace to stay and see if sensei could find a way to get the enrolled in the academy this late in the year."

"Sensei's agreed to both fund housing for them and pull some strings to have them enrolled in the academy, but they'll need some adult supervision in their new home of course. Someone who's tough enough to keep them in line but jind hearted enough to get them to open up and respect them."

Tsunade nodded and sat up on the couch. "I know the perfect candidate for you guys." She said startling them both.

"Who would that be?" Hiruzen asked hoping her suggestion would prove to be a good one as he really had no desire to see the woman destroy one of his walls again which was a possibility considering the woman didn't like kids too much and they'd been about to ask her to look after an entire handful of them.

"Shizune my step niece. Not only is she great with kids but she loves being around them and doesn't have much to do during the day besides helping out around the hospital."

Jiriya and the Hokage thought about her suggestion and figured anyone who'd practically been raised by Tsunade definitely had to be capable of handling a couple of kids.

Sarutobi and Jiriya both shared a nod.

"Well whenever you're able to please bring her in so we may discuss this matter and see if she agrees." Hiruzen said developing a small smile.

He'd been attempting his best to improve the situations in the slums of Konoha but there was only so little progress that could be made in the span of a few years. Especially considering the entire village was nearing a state of poverty not too long after the costly repairs after nin tails attack.

"I'll go get her now she's just at the hospital. Be sure to tell that Nubutaka guy my suggestion for med nin academy courses, I hear he's in the process of doing wonderful things for the academy." Tsunade saidgetting up and walking towards the door.

"Will do." Hiruzen said making a mental note to do just that.

Jiriya waited a moment till they were sure Tsunade was gone.

"So what's the deal with Kumo?" He asked feeling like he hadn't gotten enough information from the man about their actions of late.

"The Raikage is still upset I pushed the meeting date back of course but since their little stunt and demands for Hiashi Hyuga their other threats have stopped unsurprisingly."

"What other threats?" Jiriya questioned.

"Right after word of Minato's death spread across the nations Kumo started demanding we pay them restitution for all the hidden cloud shinobi lost in the war as well as other equally outlandish demands such as the head of Fugaku Uchiha who we all know killed a far amount of Kumo and Iwa shinobi in both wars."

"If not for the councils persistent efforts at keeping the Uchiha's good deads out of the public eye the man would be seen as something of a war hero which I'm sure Kumo thinks he is to us."

"They called him a war criminal saying he'd slaughtered innocence groups of their shinobi who'd already surrendered after realizing they'd lost but the Raikage seemingly falled to realize with these demands that alls fair in love and war and there were instances of this happening on both sides."

Jiriya nodded following the man.

"It wasn't only Fugaku who they wanted excuted either, making outlandish claims against the majority of the ninja who'd gain the most notoriety outside of our village such as the entire Ino Shika Cho, Tsumi Inuzuka, torture and interrogation specialist Moroni Ibiki, and various others."

"Merly attempting to have us execute some of our most valuable shinobi as a way to weaken the village. Same as they were doing by requesting outlandish amounts of ryo be paid for every Kumo shinobi who died in the war period, not just Kumo shinobi who'd died at the hands of a Konoha shinobi."

Jiriya nodded knowing there was more as he hadn't even went into the Hyuga incident yet.

"Of course every demand when rejected was followed with the threat of another war but I held steadfast unwilling to allow Kumo to bully us into a weaker position where they'd then undoubtedly declare war on the leaf feeling as if it'd be much easier for them to win."

"Eventually though after many tense letter exchanges between me and the Raikage and both our village councils Kumo offered to send a diplomat here to have peace negotiations with the village."

"Of course me and most of the council jumped at the opportunity to finally have our greatest enemy become and ally. Honestly my gut feeling was telling me it was wrong, especially considering both Danzo and Fugaku warned us against it before hand and the two usually never agee on anything but when they do it usually always turns out to be the eight decision. I still foolishly accepted Kumo's offer which I saw as our last option go avoid a war."

"The so called diplomat though was a shinobi sent to accomplish one of two possible missions. One being to kidnap the Hyuga hieres and bring her back to Kumo where they'd use her to start producing their own bearers of the Byakugan, and the second was to die at the hands of one of the Hyuga so that Kumo could shout fowl play and demand the Hyuga be delivered to them for public execution inside their village which we all know they have no intent to follow through with."

"It just happened to be even more bad luck that Hiashi of all people happened to stop the shinobi. He said the man didn't even make an attempt to defend himself as if he'd knowingly been sent on a suicide mission, which of course pulls all the pieces together. Kumo only ever sent the man with the intention to obtain the Byakugan."

Jiriya nodded in agreement with his sensei's statement.

"So how come you pushed the meeting date back by a few months?" Jiriya asked.

"Kumo thinks that no matter what they'll walk out of this with a living Byakugan weilder they can use to recreate the bloodline for their own village but they've got another thing coming. I figure what better way to repay them for their troubles then by making them wait for nothing." Hiruzen said with a slight smirk forming on his face.

"Oh sensei you diabolical villain." Jiriya smirked loving the man's train of thought.

 **Hyuga compound**

"So you Neji how has your mission been coming along with the Monogahi?" An elder asked the boy as he stood in tne gardens gazing straight forward not really looking at the elders but more so looking through them.

"They seem to all trust me, I've had the pleasure of attending the clans dinner on multiple occasions but as far as catching the eye of any Monogahi girls around my age I've been unsuccessful as the only girls in the clan around my age are Imari and Inoha who're both Shimura in name." Neji replied as evenly as he appeared.

In all honesty he hated the elders and nearly every member of the Hyuga main branch who always acted superior to the others besides his uncle who lately seemed to be treating his father as if they were brothers again.

"This is unfortunate." Another elder said not having expected a lack of children Neji's age.

"Be sure not to make the Hyuga appear to be weak or inferior to the Uchiha while you're there branch member or there will be consequences." An elder threatened causing Neji to scowl inwardly as he nodded and kept his face passive.

"Well then you are dismissed." The first elder said waving a hand.

Neji bowed stiffly as he was expected to before taking his leave.

 _"What's with these stupid main clan and branch clan titles. In the end we're all the same aren't we, or is fate just so cold some are born into better positions than others for no reason other than convenience?"_ The Hyuga thought to himself.

 **Monogahi clan training field**

Hamura lay on a scorched portion of the field sweating and trying to regain his breath as he smiled triumphantly at his brother who stood over him with his arms crossed.

"I gotta admit that was quite the justu."

Hamura's smile turned into a wide grin at the complement.

"Thanks, Amaris and the Uchiha elders helped me to perfect it."

"Does anyone know it's finished?" The man asked looking at his brother curiously.

"Nope I actually was just able to perfect it in the heat of the moment. I don't even know if I'll be able to use it again outside of a spare because it's too risky to use it in a real battle."

"Are you going to show the Uchiha elders your finished developing the technique?"

"Naaah, they've already got their own version. I think I'll just practice it in moments like these when Shisui and Itachi are attending meetings with their clan."

"You wanna keep it a secret?" Nubutaka asked raising an eyebrow.

"Yea...guys gotta have some tricks up his sleeve ya know." The boy replied sitting up with a grin.

"Hm..I guess you're right. Good point little brother." Nubutaka said returning the grin.

Hamura stood and began forming the handsigns for the justu again before his brother interrupted him.

"So since your sensei gave you the day off since Itachi and Shisui are busy what exactly do you have planned for today?" Nubutaka asked probably already knowing the answer.

"Nothing really I was gonna just practice this justu some more and wait till later to join your daily sparing session with Inoha and Imari." Hamura answered wondering why he'd asked.

"After our morning spare I was gonna take the girls to go see this kid named Naruto with me. He's gonna be starting his shinobi training with me in a year when he turns five, and I was wondering if you might wanna come with us?"

"Sure, as long as you help me train using this justu a bit more I'd love to." Hamura said with a smirk causing Nubutaka to grin a bit.

"It's not like I'm asking you a favor I was just wondering, but sure I'll help you. Try not to get yourself hurt." Nubutaka said mostly joking as he pulled out a kunai and slipped into a battle stance.

There was always a danger to using those types of justu but the clan head had faith that his little brother would be able to master it in no time.

 **Shimura clan compond**

Imari yawned rubbing her eyes trying to shake the sleep out of her system as she made her way to the kitchen.

Kami knew she wasn't a morning person and even after showering brushing her teeth and putting her clothes on she still felt like going back to bed.

She stepped into the kitchen unsurprised to see Inoha there eating breakfast as she'd always had no trouble rising in the morning but she found herself stopping in her tracks when she noticed Anko sitting across the table from Inoha enjoying breakfast in the compond for the first time ever.

"Nee-Chan?" Imari said questioningly drawing their attention as they momentarily paused and looked up from their meals.

"Hey Imari." Anko said waving at the girl with a casual smile. "Dad told me take the day off today for whatever reason." She informed figuring it probably had something to do with the snake guy talking to her yesterday as it seemed he wasn't a part of NEE.

"That's great Anko Chan! Do you have any plans for the day?" Imari asked as her eyes lit up.

"Nope but I figured you guys will be leaving to train with Nubutaka soon and after that you're going to go see that Naruto kid so I'll just go with you."

Imari's eyes lit up more as Inoha grinned at her sister sharing her excitement.

"I can't believe it, we get to spend another day around onee chan!" Imari gushed causing Anko to chuckle.

"You should finish your breakfast so we don't get there late, Inoha made you some too." Anko said pointing to a plate on the other side of the table.

Imari smiled warmly at her twin sister grateful for the gesture. Although they had plenty of household servents capable of looking after their needs Inoha preferred not only to cook for them both but she always did their laundry for them herself sewed and repaired their clothes when they were in need of it and even washed their dishes when she had the time.

Needless to say the servants loved the girl but they also seemed to be fond of Imari and even Anko who was hardly ever woke when she was home. Imari just chalked it up to actually having someone to serve other than their father who likely never spoke to the house hands if he wasn't giving them a command.

Imari dug into her breakfast not wanting to finish too far behind her sister less she be the reason they'd be showing up late to their cousins training field.

 **Somewhere in the land of lightning**

Enu surveyed the immediate area and commanded half his hive to spread out around the area in a thirty meter radius. Yukushia stood not far off to the side with her hand against a tree as Gai observed both sensory/tracker nin wondering what exactly the Monogahi woman was doing with the tree.

"Did they pass through here?" A man with short blonde hair and sky blue eyes without pupils asked.

"Indeed they did and my beetles tell me they'll be back." Enu said to the man just as Yukushia gave her thanks to the tree she'd been gathering information from.

"The tree says the shinobi patrols usually pass through here within thirty minutes of each other patrolling the area around civilian village to the south in squads of three." She said to the groups squad leader.

"Well then judging by the tracks in the dirt a few yards from here they've been gone for about twenty minutes already and they'll be making their way back here any second. Find a good hiding position and wait for my signal, remember we aren't here on a kill mission it's capture and interrogation so we need the targets alive and capable of speech."

The team all nodded as guy leapt into a large bush on the side of the road with Enu following his lead and jumping into a bush on the other side. Yukushia formed a couple a hand seals and easily sunk into the ground while Inojin Yamanaka leapt into the tree with the most cover that had a good view of the road.

The team didn't have to wait long as five minutes later Inoji saw a group of three shinobi running down the road. He waited until they were close enough that he knew they'd be discovered by their sensor and he acted quickly holding hid hands together and forming a circle, then casting a genjustu exclusive to his clan that messed with the abilities of sensory nin in a way that was so subtle few of them hardly ever noticed.

Satisfied that his comrades wouldn't be discovered now he leapt out of the tree and stood in front of the three men.

"What the-" The sensory nin in the back said looking more startled than his comrades.

Inojin expected as much considering he was a sensory nin and he was used to seeing his opponents coming before they showed up.

"The hell are you doing in our turf Konoha scum!?!?" The leader barked drawing a sword.

"I'll be the one asking the questions here." Inojin said spitting the tooth pick from his mouth giving the signal.

"Like hell you wi-" The man's words died in his throat as out of nowhere a large army of beetles swarmed him and began draining his chakra.

The sensor found himself knocked out by a strong blow from Might Gai who moved so swiftly he'd gotten to the man before his teammate even had the time to scream from being attacked by the beetles.

Yukushia grabbed onto the leaders legs and pulled him into the ground leaving only his head exposed.

"Okay we're gonna make this brief." Inojin said pulling out and lightning a cigarette.

"Is Kumo planning to ambush the Hokage and his escorts in the meeting set to take place two months from now?"

The man scowled at the blonde man just as his teammates yelling cesed and he fell unconscious from large chakra consumption.

"How the hell would I know? You think the Raikage just goes around blaberring about his plans to anyone in the village?!?!" The man growled gazing at the man with muderous intent.

"Besides even if I did know I wouldn't tell you leafy losers jack sh-"

Inojin cut the man off with a hard kick the the side of the face.

"I really don't appreciate how everyone who's ever had a problem with our village loves talking down on us when in fact we're the only great village that hasn't lost a single war. Be sure to watch your mouth from now on." Inojin said nodding to Yukushia.

She walked towards the man and injected him in the neck with a clear substance.

She then walked back to her original spot and formed a single hand sign causing the earth to tighten around the man causing him to scream in pain for a few moments till she stopped.

Inojin stooped down and grabbed the shinobi by his hair forcing his head up so he could look him in the eyes.

"Feel like cooperating with us now?" He asked blowing a little bit of smoke from the cigarette in the man's face.

The Kumo captain scowled and spit at Inojin hitting him in the side of his face.

Inojin continued to look at the man lifting a hand to wipe the spit from his cheek before letting go of the guys head and nodding again to Yukushia.

This time the man's screams were truly agonizing and the kunochi began to feel bad about what she was doing. Not as bad as the man clad in green spandex however who felt this was more of a mission you'd assign to anbu rather than tracker nin and front line fighters although Inojin was an interrogations expert.

The man's torture lasted longer this time each minute going by gruesomely slow as instead of just squeezing the man with the earth Yukushia was using it to make serveral tiny spikes which slowly continued deeper and deeper inside the man's body.

Inojin signaled for her to stop when the man momentarily stopped screaming and started coughing blood. Yukushia didn't allow the relief she felt to show on her face looking to Gai and noticing the iritated scowl the man displayed.

Inojin picked up the man's head and spit on the right side of his face probably getting some kind of messed up payback taking one more drag off his cigarette before pulling it from his mouth and putting it out slowly against the man's neck.

The captured Kumo nin just grunted in pain at this as the pain he'd just felt was possibly nearly nothing in comparison to this feeling.

"Are you willing to cooperate now?" Inojin asked hoping he would be as he didn't really like having people tortured and he couldn't mind sweep the guy as they had no idea how many Kumo nin they'd have to go through till they got their information and he needed to preserve his chakra.

"I swear I don't know anything, if the Raikage is planning something a nobody shinobi like me with no real status would have no way of knowing." The man said in a weak voice finally caving.

"That's bullshit, you Kumo shinobi are awefully prideful and arrogant just like your Raikage. I'm sure he told someone close to him and that someone told someone else and word got around through the grape vine so tell me what you know or next time I'll have my subordinate over there stop taking it easy on you."

"Or better yet I'll have that Aburama over there get his beetles to slowly devour you from the inside out."

"I swear I don't know anything about any plans! I-"

"If you don't know anything then who does? I know you know something." Inojin said slowly losing patience.

"I swear I don't know anything, I really do-"

"Enu, help me make this guy talk." Inojin said looking at the Aburame who nodded and began approaching as his beetles swarmed around him.

"Wait wait! Odachi on village gate duty during the morning hours! He's close to the shinobi who guard the village council he probably knows something!"

"Describe him for me." The Yamanaka commanded.

The man proceeded to give Inojin a description of the man he'd mentioned and afterwards placed his hand over the man's forehead knocking him unconscious and staying there for a moment before walking towards the other Kumo shinobi and placing a hand on their heads as well.

"When they wake up they'll think they were taken down by a group of rogue nin from Iwa. Unfortunately though kidnapping a gate guard is well beyond the scope of what we're capable of and we were given specific orders not to get to close the the hidden cloud village. We'll have to head back to Konoha and report this to the Hokage."

The group nodded their complaince and followed as Inojin turned and began sprinting down the road back towards the land of fire.

 **Somewhere else in the land of lightning**

The anbu gave the silent signal and his subordinates all quickly moved into the small village incapacitating the few shinobi guards they had protecting the unsuspecting village at the moment.

They weren't told to kill anyone or burn the village which would've been the same as an open war declaration on the land but what they were told to do was deliver a message to the Raikage and his council who obviously still thought Konoha to be weak.

Move along the border of the land of lightning attack it's less well defended civilian villages and make sure no one had the time to set off the alarm as a way to let Kumo know the leaf village was still just as strong as ever.

As Inu knocked out another inexperienced shinobi patrolmen he wondered what'd exactly gotten into the third that had convinced him to make such a brazen move.

 ***Flashback*** **-Hokages office-**

"Uhhm...sir?" Kakashi said looking up from the scroll containing all the data pertaining to the mission.

"I figured you'd be pretty skeptical about this mission as a village doing something of this sort has never been seen before outside of war but it's not a declaration of war as most would think."

"It's just a warning to Kumo that not only are we unafraid of war but we're also more than prepared for it if it should come to that which hopefully it doesn't. No doubt the Raikage and his council will feel slighted when they find we have no intention to give them Hiashi Hyuga as a sacrifice to avoid conflict. This is a silent threat I'm sure they'll get the meaning of and also a form of payback for all the threats from them that went unanswered that no doubt gave them room to assume they're in a position of power which they can use to bully the village into accepting their outlandish demands."

"Since it's a civilian village word will also travel about what happened and the rest of the shinobi world will remember the hidden leaf village is not one to be trifled with."

Kakashi could only nod and bow as he left the man's office with every intent to fulfill the orders he'd been given.

 ***Present day***

So far out of the three villages on the list they'd already hit two incapacitating many border patrol shinobi just to make their way this deep into lightning country and knocking out all the villages usual patrols as well.

Kakashi was surprised it was this easy but then again when u had a genius like Shikaku supplying all your tactical and logistics planning and information things usually went better than one would expect.

 **Uchiha compond**

"Ya know Itachi, I think I'd actually prefer D rank missions to clan meetings. It's just a few hours of the elders and the men with status arguing with each other over the usual nonsense." Shisui said as the two walked towards the gates of their compond.

Itachi didn't comment on Shisui's statement but he did pause for a moment cutting his eye at a corner before continuing walking at the same pace.

Shisui noticed and turned to look at the corner wondering what'd intrigued him enough to stop when he saw the reason peeking at them from behind a wall.

"Hey Itachi do you know that girl?" Shisui asked noticing she was starting at his little cousin.

"No." Itachi answered immediately with the same calm as always.

The girl suddenly stepped out from behind the wall and approached the two with a frown.

 _"Oh crap that doesn't look good."_ Shisui thought as Itachi took notice but continued walking at the same pace without even turning to acknowledge the Uchiha girl.

She ran in front of them and stopped right in front of Itachi frowning at him like he'd done something to upset her.

Itachi stood there calm as usual with the same neutral expression as always causing Shisui to wonder if his cousin had some kind of permanent genjustu over his face. The way the girl was glaring daggers at the boy was making Shisui pretty nervous and he wasn't even involved.

"Nice to hear you deny ever knowing me now that you're a ninja Itachi, I thought we were best friends!" The girl huffed as her rueful look changed into an angry one and she looked at the boy as if she was both hurt and upset.

 _"What? Itachi has a friend besides me and Hamura, and it's a girl?!?!"_ Shisui thought thinking he may have been dreaming for a second.

"Now isn't the time Izumi." The hier answered back casually causing the girl to frown some more.

"Oh so you do actually know me then? Must have heard you wrong jerk face!"

 _"No way."_ Shisui thought not knowing what to think.

Itachi sighed. "It's not that I was denying to know you for any reason other than I didn't feel like explaining myself to Shisui at the moment as I knew he would've been sure and is now sure to ask me a million questions." Itachi said glancing at Shisui.

 _"Oh you're damn right you have some explaining to do cousin of mine!"_ Shisui thought as he failed to fight a grin.

"Well you could have just said he's a friend of mine, that hurt you know!" The girl said still clearly upset.

Shisui noticed unshead tears in the corner of her eyes and wondered just who she was to Itachi.

"I would have if you'd have greeted us instead of hiding behind that wall. I didn't think it'd cause you so much distress." Itachi said still casual about the entire situation.

"I am not distressed!!!" The girl fervently denied.

Itachi reached up and brushed a finger under the corner of her eye pulling it back to show a tear drop she'd been holding in.

Shisui's jaw dropped having never actually seen Itachi interact with someone who wasn't Sasuke in that way.

The girls face turned red in both anger at being found out and embarrassment at being seen through so easily.

"Okay Mr know it all yes I'm upset but best friends don't act like they don't know each other! I thought you were different from everyone else." She said growing more sad then upset at the end.

"I'm sorry Izumi I honestly only did it because I'd rather not play answer the endless questions with my cousin but if it means that much I won't do it again." Itachi offered.

"Really?" She said looking back up with a hopeful stare.

Itachi nodded.

"Promise?" The girl asked holding out her pinky finger.

"Promise." Itachi said grasping the finger with his.

 _"No way!!! Itachi apologizing to someone for anything other than formal purposes?? Itachi making a pinky promise with a girl to never do something again because it upset her??? Itachi understanding another person's feelings?!?!"_ It was all too much for Shisui who thought he might faint at any moment.

The girl smiled and Shisui saw his cousins face develop a small smile of it's own.

 _"OH...MY...KAMI!!!"_

 **Hokages office**

"Yes I think they've completed enough missions to be allowed on a C rank." The Hokage said answering the jounins question.

"Great I know Shisui and Hamura will be extatic about it." Shikono said rubbing a hand through his hair absentmindedly.

"How are the boys coming along anyway?" Hiruzen asked curious.

"Little brats seem to be way too advanced for the generation they come from. Itachi and Shisui's Taijustu skills are pretty impeccable for them to only be fresh genin definitely high genin level if not low chunin while Hamura is just behind them. All of them exceel and learn new ninjustu easily Hamura and Shisui showing more talent with ninjustu than a some of chunin I've seen. Hamura seems capable of learning any ninjustu I throw his way and Itachi is nearly on their level but he has a much greater talent for genjustu which he prefers to rely on, Shisui's genjustu skills are at the level you'd expect of an Uchiha his age if not slightly greater but that kid has talent with the flicker I've never seen before."

"Care to elaborate?" Hiruzen asked raising an eyebrow.

"He seems to be able to control exactly where he'll appear and he's getting faster with the technique everyday."

"That sounds rather impressive."

"Oh it's more impressive than it seems. Oddly enough though Itachi doesn't like the substitution justu?"

"He is aware that justu is practically a necessity for ninja in all walks of life correct?"

"He is but he says he doesn't like the simplicity of the justu, how one substitutes with the closest log in the area and leaves the enemy completely aware of the situation. He says it'd be better if one could substitute with a flash bang or a smoke bomb or something to disorient the enemy but he knows those are short of the mass required to preform a substitution so he's looking for something else to use."

Hiruzen nodded.

"Many a ninja have tried but in the end logs seem to be the most efficient matieral to preform a kamawari with."

"I've explained the same thing but he refuses to use the technique till he finds a way to use it that will better suite him."

"Have to admire the boys determination." Hiruzen smiled.

"Indeed you do." Shikono smirked.

"Lastly Hamura keeps complaining about not being a sensory nin so I thought I'd ask you to have someone good with that train him."

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow again.

"Isn't his brother a sensory ninja?"

"He is but he seems bent on learning the skill from someone else."

Hiruzen laughed lightly at the comment.

"Very well I'll see who's available to train the boy."

"Anything else you'd like to ask of me while you're here?" Hiruzen asked.

"More downtime." Shikono said with a smirk causing the Hokage to laugh good naturedly.

 **A random Konoha Inn**

A knock sounded on the door causing Hatsue to wake from her nightmarish dreams.

She looked at the door warily already having an idea who was on the other side as few others could find her so easily.

She looked at the window and contemplated making a run for it but lost all her heart along with her chance when a pool of shadow came in from the crack of the door and rose from the floor morphing into the form of her sensei.

For a moment all was silent as the two just gazed at each other. Nubutaka trying to read her and see what was wrong, why did she appear so damaged, was the light really gone from her eyes or was he just seeing things.

Hatsue trying to formulate a plan as she attempted to hide all the things she felt from her sensei, did he already know and was he disappointed, or was he reading her right now attempting to discover all the things he didn't know.

"Hatsue.."

She didn't wait for him to finish she quickly flung a kunai in his direction so fast he'd hardly had the time to avoid it.

Before he'd gotten his barrings straight a second later she was already out the window.

 _"What the hell was that?"_ Nubutaka thought shocked his Hatsue would do something like that not even noticing the intimate way he'd just thought of her as he quickly leapt from the window in hot pursuit.

She was already on the roof tops but luckily for him he was much faster than the woman and was gaining on her easily.

"Hatsue what are you doing! Stop and talk to me!" He yelled quickly pulling out a kunai and jumping through a web of ninja wire she'd lain slicing through the one's directly in front of him.

"Just leave me alone you're not even the real you you're a shadow clone!" The woman yelled throwing some more kunai inside the walls of the buildings around the ones they were running on.

 _"How does she know I'm a shadow clone?"_ The clone thought bewildered as he knew Hatsue wasn't a sensory ninja.

"Why can't you talk to me!?" The clone asked slicing through the other wire traps she was laying to slow him down.

The girl stopped and turned around and the clone smiled thinking he may have gotten through to her till she pulled a bundle of ninja wire from her pouch and started wrapping it around her fingers.

"What are you doing Tsue?" Nubutaka's clone asked sounding hurt.

Hatsue's face saddened even more for a moment till she lifted her arm and the chakra wires all rushed forward in a speedy barrage cutting the roaf as they went.

Nubutaka leapt from the building intent on landing on the next when she waved her other hand an another set of wires followed.

" _What the hell, I've never seen anybody use ninja wire like this before."_ The clone thought seeing no openings in the deadly tangle of wires that were approaching him.

 _"Yin style: Shadow shroud teleportation!"_ The clone thought disappearing and reppearing behind where Hatsue had just been standing.

There was no sign of the girl besides a severely damaged roof and a large bundle of ninja wire she'd left behind.

The clone reached out with it's senses but still couldn't find any trace of the girl.

He picked up the wires she'd had wrapped around her hand and wrapped them around his left forearm to his wrist.

 _"I never did like the idea of you training under Danzo Tsue, now it's pretty obvious I failed you."_ The clone thought looking at the wires snd balling his fist.

 _"If I were to dispell it just bum the original me out especially since we can't find you. If I stick around till his day is nearly over at least it won't be ruined he'll just think I'm with you right now."_ The clone said holding in his anger and sadness.

 _"I won't rob the original from having a little talk with Danzo either, I'll just wait and see if I can find you again and if not then I'll go tell the real me."_ The clone thought doing just that keeping his senses open as he went to go find someone to repair the roof.

 **Monogahi clan gardens**

"Ah, there you are Amaris. I'm surprised you haven't taken a mission the past three days I didn't expect to find you here."

The woman turned and looked at the clan librarian with with a far off look in her eye.

"I suppose I should get back in the field or at least go train with one of the others least my skills get rusty."

"You've always been such an active kunochi. Any reason in particular you've taken the last few days off, you aren't getting sick are you?" The elderly librarian asked.

"No it's nothing like that Sayako sama. Two days ago I was waiting for yesterday to come which is why I didn't go on a mission then, yesterday I spent my time hanging out with a really good friend and today...I guess yesterday was just so special I wanted to hold on to it a bit longer before going back into the field." The girl said looking far off again.

Sayako chuckled.

"Well try not to fall in love too fast young one."

Amaris turned around ready to deny the woman's claim but figured there was no point as there was no doubt the great white wolf had unintentionally lured her deep into it's den upon their first meeting, and now she wasn't only it's willing guest but also a prisoner with no desire to escape.

Amaris smiled at the woman causing her to grin and they smiled and looked out over the flowerbeds together.

"The Yamanaka are really impressive when it comes to gardening wouldn't you agree?"

"Sometimes it makes me wonder if they've got some hidden passive form of nature style or something." Amaris joked.

"Indeed child, the flowers seem to honestly delight under their touch."

Amaris remember how she'd felt delightful walking with Kakashi and Naruto, a part of her wished that day never had to come to an end.

"I have that scroll you seek and I had Odeki examine the seals, he can definitely seal your friends sharingan till he needs to activate it."

Amaris turned to the woman as her eyes light up. She'd forgotten she'd even ask them to look into that for her.

"Thank you so much Sayako I'd forgotten all about that!" Amaris said smiling brightly.

"Don't mention it, just be sure to stop by the library with your friend the next chance you get so me and Odeki can get to work."

"Right! I'll be sure to bring him the next time he gets a day off." The woman said unable to contain her smile.

 _"Kakashi is gonna love this!"_

 **Konoha slum**

"Do you really think that guy will come back Jusino?" A boy with light brown skin and dark brown hair a shade or two darker than his eyes asked.

"I'm sure he will, he had a look in his eyes that was really honest and sincere. Plus he's Naruto's godfather and we all know Naruto's a good kid he wouldn't let him forget."

The boy nodded believing in his leaders words. "So what do you think living on the pretty side of the village will be like?"

"Well we'll be able to make friends for one considering the kids there probably aren't competing with each other for survival." Jusino said developing a smirk.

"When I think about it the foods probably gotta taste better, no adults frowning at you all the time because they know you steal to get by...honestly sounds like a paradise."

"You said it." The boy remarked looking at the other members of their gang who were all rough housing playfully besides Lily who sat to the side out of the way watching them with a smile.

"Hopefully we can get some treatment for Lily too, she may not ever say it but I know she hates the fact that she can't steal things or play around like everyone else. She'd always ask me was she being a burden on the group and sometimes she'd try to run away at night."

"No way man not Lily?"

"Seriously Amar, you know I'm a light sleeper so I'd always wake up when she left and convince her to come back. At first it was only because I took her in as a member of our group and it's my responsibility to keep us all safe but after a while she really grew on me and the thought of her being out there on her own started to seem terrifying."

Amar nodded knowing what he meant. Lily was really small and frail, she could barely peel an orange by herself and it was a wonder how she'd survived on the streets by herself till Jusino found her.

"Hey guy!" Naruto's voice sounded from the entrance to their hideout and soon the blonde boy came into view with another blonde but this one a woman standing behind him.

She surveyed the group curiously her eyes resting longer on a few of them then the others she'd just glanced at.

"This is my aunt but I just like to call her Baa chan. Fair warning though she doesn't like that name and she can be scary sometimes."

"Okay kids my name is Tsunade, you'll address me as Lady Tsunade or face punishment. I'll be bringing you all to your new home since Jiriya is in a meeting with the Hokage right now."

"Pack up all the things of value or importance that you may have here and lets go." Tsunade ordered unsurprised when they all just looked at each other questioningly.

 _"Of course all they have is each other and the close on their backs."_

"Well then kiddos come on it's time to go." Tsunade said watching the kids all take one last look at their home and begin suffling out of the entrance.

There were three kids who stayed and looked at the hideout a bit longer than the others.

The oldest boy who Tsunade figured to be the leader was tall wiry and looked pretty fast, he had biege and brown hair with hazel eyes that held an intelligence you wouldn't expect from an Urchin.

The other one was a light shade of brown with brown hair that was nearly black and dark brown eyes that nearly matched his hair, he had a surprising amount of muscle for a kid who probably didn't eat much likely from always getting into street fights and being the most active of the group.

The third was a small girl with pale white skin and long blonde hair that was nearly white and odd silver eyes. Something about the girl seemed interesting to Tsunade but she wrote it off as nothing important.

After another moment the boys nodded to each other and the girl crawled on the tall ones back looking like she hardly weighed a thing.

They stopped momentarily in front of the exit Tsunade stood beside and the muscular one nodded and continued walking while the tall one still stood there.

"Thanks." He said as the girl on his back nodded and they continued on there way.

"Don't mention it kid." Tsunade said casually walking behind them into the alley and doing a head count so she could be positive she wouldn't lose a single one of them on their trip outside of these slums.

 **Hokages Office**

"And you're sure you have no problem with this?" Sarutobi asked the dark haired girl.

"I'm positive! Me and Ton Ton here really adore being around kids and I've been kind of bored since coming back to Konoha, no offense Hokage sama!"

"None taken." Hiruzen said with a smile.

"I'm a pretty decent medic but I never really felt the hospital was were I belong. It'd be much more fufiling to be tasked with the education and care of a group of unfortunate kids from the slums, I'd consider it an honor actually." The woman said with a smile as her pig oinked in agreement.

"When then sensei I think that settles that wouldn't you agree?" Jiriya said from the Hokages couch with a grin.

"Yes I think Shizune here would be the perfect caretaker. Would you be so kind as to sign your consent here?" Hiruzen said handing her some kind of caretakers agreement.

Shizune quickly skimmed through the paper and signed it with a cheery smile handing it back to the Hokage who stamped it and handed it back.

"Excellent, every three months you will have to come to my office to renew your agreement and I will give you enough funds to purchase clothes food and essentials for you and the kids over a three month period. If you'd like more funds then I make readily available all you have to do is ask."

"Thank you Hokage sama!" Shizune said excepting the large envelope and standing to bow respectfully.

"Actually I think it's me and Jiriya that owe you our thanks. Tsunade is on her way to the home we selected for you and the children as we speak and it has already been furnished although you're free to redecorate in anyway that you please. Be sure to come to me if there are any problems and complications."

"Hai! Hokage sama."

 **Monogahi training field**

"Water style: Rushing Water Gezure!" Neji shouted causing the earth to rupture and shoot a large stream of water into the air.

The Hyuga was quickly running through the hand signs for his next justu as his opponent looked on in surprise.

"Water style: Water pin missles!" He said causing the droplets of water in the air to shoot towards the Monogahi boy at an alarming speed.

"Earth style: Solid dome justu!" Hamura yelled not liking his odds of dodging the shower of water missles.

A dome of earth rose around the boy protecting him from the attack but still shattering the dome in certain places.

Neji was panting a little heavily by the end of his attack but refused to take a break. With his Byakugan he saw Hamura tunneling into the ground from inside the dome and making his way towards him.

"Earth style: Mobile core!" Neji said stomping the ground and causing a large chunk in front of him with Hamura inside it to sink deep into the earth.

Afterwards he collapsed on his knees as his Byakugan deactivated and he started panting even heavier than before.

Nubutaka came to stand beside him and he stomped causing the ground to rise back to where it'd been formerly before croaching down to place a hand on Neji's back as he took in the boys angry expression.

"Are you okay Neji?"

The Hyuga didn't say anything for a moment he just stared forward clearly upset before shrugging the man's hand off and standing up.

"I'm fine." He said walking towards one of the tree's around the compond intent on resting himself.

Nubutaka crossed his arms and looked at Neji reproachfully.

"Oh really...the Neji I know would never exhausted himself in a battle by using two chakra costly justu that don't even belong to his affinity." The man commented wondering if he was angry because of something that'd happened at his compond.

Water style was Neji's favorite affinity because of it's flexibility and strength against all other elements besides wind and lightning but he had an affinity for air and earth. The two water style justu especially the water gezure were pretty taxing and so was the mobile core. Neji usually used justu that weren't so consuming like the water bullet.

"I'm really impressed you learned those justu but how you used them was very foolish, Hamura is stronger than you and your reserves still need to expand pass where they are for you to use them effectiently."

"Just remember you can always talk to me whenever something's bothering you." Nubutaka said before placing his hand on the ground.

He stood back up and stomped and a few seconds later Hamura popped out of the earth looking sick.

"You know you would have run out of oxygen sooner than normal while you were that deep underground right?" Nubutaka asked looking at his little brother.

"Screw oxygen I think I'm gonna be sick." The boy said rolling around on the ground.

"I would've made shadow clones to get me out if you weren't there anyway but having the ground drop so suddenly and then rise while you're inside it is not fun at all." Hamura said standing up and holding his stomach.

He walked towards the tree where Neji was sitting and sat not too far away holding out his fist to Neji who looked at it questioningly.

"That was pretty ingenious of you my stomach's a mess right now but you're apparently too low on chakra to continue so we'll call that one a tie." Hamura said smiling at the boy.

Neji looked at the boy in surprise before he smirked and bumped fist with him cheering up a bit at his statement.

The two sat against the tree for a while discussing the justu they were focused on learning at the moment when Imari and Inoha arrived along with Itachi and Shisui and to Hamura and Nubutaka's surprise Anko and some girl they had never seen before who was making an attempt at going unnoticed by hiding behind Itachi.

"Well isn't this a surprise, I was beginning to think you two would never show up." Nubutaka said looking at his cousins.

"I know Itachi and Shisui are just getting here because of their meeting but what's the reason you girls are showing up so late for the first time ever?" He questioned.

Imari and Inoha both looked at each other then at their sister who was averting her eyes as the area around her nose was painted with a red blush.

"Nee Chan wanted to stop and try some dango after we walked pass a stand that was selling it...she ended up eating all the dangos." Inoha said looking slightly embarrassed for her sister who hadn't denied the statement.

Nubutaka was silent for a moment wondering how he should reply to that statement when his little brother burst into a fit of later beside Neji on the other side of the training field.

I don't believe it! Miss dango paste was so busy eating dango she made the twins late for training, ahahaha!" The boy said rolling over laughing unable to get enough as Anko's blush grew a little and she frowned.

"Hey old man it's not like I've ever had them before, I couldn't help it! Don't think I didn't notice you sitting against the tree holding on to your stomach like some kind of sick puppy when we first showed up!!!"

"What are you too much of a wuss to keep up with training or did you just throw your back out or something!?" Anko yelled causing Hamura to cease his fit of laughing and frown at the girl developing a tick mark.

"I am not an old man, I just got a bit nauseous during a spare that's all! At least I don't go around making others late cause I'm too busy stuffing my face!" Hamura said hoping to his feet letting go of his stomach and going on the defensive.

Anko smirked slyly seeing she'd gotten a rise out of him and started walking forward as she continued.

"At least I don't get my butt kicked and make excuses for it like some little kid! I bet you're always saying your stomach hurts when it's time to train or spare with someone!" Anko said stopping in front of Hamura.

"Am not!" He yelled leaning closer to intimidate the girl.

"Are too!" She replied still smirking as she leaned in unintimidated and amused by the boys action.

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

Are too!"

"Am NOT!"

"Are TOO!"

The two yelled going back and forth till their foreheads were touching and they were pushing against each other in a battle of wills niether seemed willing to lose.

The other kids present besides Itachi who was just smiling chuckled at their antics as Nubutaka sighed.

"Alright you two settle down." He said separating the duo as Anko smirked victoriously and Hamura folding his arms feeling like he'd lost.

"So Itachi, Shisui, who's your new friend?" Nubutaka said referring to Izumi who was trying her best not to hide behind Itachi again.

"That's just Itachi's girlfriend." Shisui said unable to help himself.

Izumi gasped and grew redder than a tomato but much to everyone's shock Itachi developed a slight blush and didn't reply just because he felt like denying the untrue claim would only cause him more troubles and teasing. So he just frowned at Shisui who rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

 _Girlfriend_ _...Itachi? No way."_ Hamura thought disbelievingly.

Nubutaka and the rest of the group besides Anko who didn't know Itachi well thought the same.

Izumi just grew shyer and more self conscious as she realized he hadn't even denied his cousins statement. She subtly inched her way slightly behind Itachi again and started looking down as she traced circles in the dirt with her feet.

 _"Well that's pretty surprising."_ Nubutaka thought pretty much as mind blown as the rest.

 _"Is Itachi actually blushing?"_ Hamura thought upon looking at his friend.

 _"No way.."_

Itachi sighed as he grabbed Izumi's hand and pulled on it gently till she came to stand beside him.

"This is second year shinobi trainie Izumi Uchiha. She asked me and Shisui if she could come along and train with us today as it could help her catch up easier in her shinobi studies."

Nubutaka smiled and the rest of the group smiled as everyone greeted Izumi only causing her blush to deepen more not being used to this kind of attention along with being known among these people as Itachi's girlfriend.

After the introductions were through Nubutaka paired them off with their sparing partners as they'd be doing one of one today rather than team matches.

Anko vs Izumi

Hamura Vs Shisui

Inoha Vs Neji

Imari Vs Itachi

The first match up would be Izumi and Anko as the two were the least advanced out of the group and their match would likely be shorter than the others.

They made their way to the middle of the training field and stood a short distance from each other as the others stood off to the side. The rules were simple for this spar, no fatal strikes, no ninjustu besides clones and the flicker, weapons were permitted.

He signaled the start of the battle and Izumi rushed Anko who'd taken up a taijustu stance Nubutaka recognized to one of the many used by anbu.

Izumi got within striking distance and made a very open strike practically telegraphing her target. As Anko moved to counter Izumi quickly ducked under her attack and moved into a kick which Anko thanks to her superior speed and experience was easily able to dodge.

Anko moved to sweep the girls legs from under her while she was in mid strike but Izumi quickly used her momentum to flip in the air landing on her hands and doing another flip to land on her feet.

She rushed the girl again as Anko took up the same stance and grabbed her arm this time. She attempted to use the girls momentum to throw her but apparently Izumi was very acrobatic and she twisted in the air in a way that made her slip out of Anko's grasp.

"Okay time to get serious." The purple haired girl thought switching her stance and rushing the girl before she'd had the chance to get her bearings.

Izumi reacted quickly twirling in a leap over Anko's strike and making two swings at her in quick succession with her hands. Anko ducked under the attack but was caught by surprise by the girls twirling foot which planted itself in her chest and pushed her back a bit.

She regained her footing and smirked grateful to finally be fighting someone other than 122 as she could definitely learn something from this girls more flexible way of fighting.

Izumi grinned happy Anko was enjoying herself as she was too since usually when she trained with Itachi he always had to go easy on her which she really didn't like too much, and all the other Uchiha avoided her like the plague same as the kids at the academy.

The next few minutes consisted of Anko pressuring Izumi and keeping her on the defensive as she picked up on the girls style but it didn't seem to be making much of a difference as she seemed to be adjusting to whatever changes her opponent made.

Nubutaka couldn't help but notice her style wasn't the typical Uchiha destroyer style.

Thanks to the sharingan the destroyer fist had earned world renown as perhaps the deadliest taijustu style to ever come out of Konoha right next to the gentle fist.

It was essentially an all attack style giving the enemy hardly any time to fight back as the weak points in their defense were constantly pressured, users of the style didn't dodge attacks at all they countered them as to keep pushing the attack and wearing on their opponents defense.

Thanks to the absence of the sharingan anyone outside of the Uchiha who attempted to replicate or modify the style found it to be more trouble than it was worth as their eyes could never quite utilities the countering aspect which was what made the style so deadly.

The only people who were actually successful in this endeavor as far as Nubutaka knew where Kakashi Hatake who possessed a sharingan and Might Gai who was possibly the greatest taijustu master the elemental nation's had ever seen.

When watching Izumi it was quite obvious the style she used was different. She avoided all attacks and usually only attacked right after dodging a strike which Nubutaka thought was weird since countering and creating an opening would prove to be more efficient than waiting for them.

Even Uchiha that had yet to awaken their sharingan we're taught the basics of the destroyer fist.

She appeared to be tiring out quicker than Anko who was using the anbu woodpecker style which consisted of fast precision strikes and evading attacks for defense.

Anko moved in on Izumi again once again getting up close to the girl jabbing at her with her right which Izumi quickly spun away from and turned bringing her foot up which Anko quickly duck under and moved in closer.

Izumi quickly avoided two more jabs before leaping over the girl bringing her foot down towards her opponents head which was dodged, as soon as Izumi landed she spun low and attempting to sweep Anko's legs out from under her again.

Anko dodged the sweep as well and made another set of jabs at Izumi who avoided all of them and spun attempting to kick the girl again but having her leg grabbed.

Before she could do anything though Izumi quickly pushed off the ground surprising Anko and wrapping both her legs around the konichi's neck pulling her to the ground and grabbing and pulling on her arm to hold her in place.

She began applying pressure on the girls neck till she heard Anko declare her the victor.

Izumi stood up smiling brightly very proud of herself till she noticed Anko's rather down trodden mood and fustrated expression.

"Sorry I didn't mean to-"

"Don't apologise for defeating me block head you won fair and square you should be proud...I swear I don't know what's up with you clan folk and being so nice." Anko said sounding annoyed but Izumi noticed her facial expression softened and she developed a small smile.

"Oh..s-sorry..about that I thought you might be upset with me for a moment." Izumi said smiling not realizing she'd apologized again causing Anko to sigh.

"I was upset at myself for losing, not you and you just apologized again sheesh...you remind me of my sisters." Anko said glancing at Imari and Inoha who grinned.

Izumi grinned hoping that that meant the two could become good friends as besides Itachi she didn't really have many people who she could call friends besides three kids at the academy who'd stopped hanging around her when Itachi graduated early and she rose above the level of all the other academy students as a result of training to keep up with the Uchiha hier.

"I think you did really good Anko Chan maybe you'll beat me next time!" Izumi said smiling at the girl who returned it.

"Thanks I'm sure I will eventually considering my dad's trying to cram three years worth of academy training into me over a short time period, but you did great too I'm glad I could fight you." Anko said bowing formally.

"Likewise." Izumi said doing the same.

Nubutaka and the others smiled happy the two were easily getting along after their short battle.

"Alright, Hamura and Shisui you two are up next." Nubutaka said causing the boys to grin and rush to take Izumi and Anko's places.

Nubutaka signaled that they may begin and the two just stared at each other for a few moments wondering how the other would start.

Shisui decided to take the initiative and pulled out the bone swords he received from Imari from a leather holder big enough for both of them on his back.

"No fair, I don't have any weapons that big!" Hamura said pulling out two kunai.

"You snooze you lose buddy." Shisui said with a smirk.

"Too bad I still plan on winning." Hamura smirked back at the Uchiha.

"You won our last spar so there's no way I'm letting you get the jump on me in this one." Shisui said disappearing from sight.

Hamura knowing what the obvious route of attack would be turned around and parried Shisui's strike.

Shisui began slashing at Hamura with wild but precise strikes keeping him on the defensive as he attempted to get a feel for his new blades.

 _"How did Shisui get so good with swords!?"_ Hamura thought unable to counter or even gain some distance as Shisui wasn't even giving him a second of respite.

Shisui spun the sword he had in his left hand so he was holding it in a backwards grip jabbing at Hamura with them both.

The Monogahi saw his opportunity and quickly ducked under the blades and flashed stepped to gain some distance.

As soon as he reappeared much to his dismay Shisui was upon him again slashing and flipping around him in an impressive display of agility and acrobatics even throwing in an occasional twirl here and there as Hamura realized he'd gotten so good by taking bits and pieces from Imari's style and emulating it with how he would usually use a kunai.

He twisted the sword in his left into a reverse grip again and began using the arm to deliver power strikes that threatened to knock the kunai out of Hamura's hands while using the other to just keep the pressure on as he could use that one at a faster pace than with the other.

Suddenly Shisui was gone and right back in front of Hamura again in the next instant kicking him in the stomach and sending him sailing a short distance away. The Uchiha quickly leapt into the air knowing Hamura would recover soon an throwing both his blades after the boy where he suspected he would land.

Shisui smirked as he realized he'd been right on the money as both the blades landed square in the ground next to a stunned and shocked Hamura.

"I've never seen Shisui defeat Hamura so easily before, I think he might have been made to be a kenjustu user... either that or Hamura was just completely caught off guard and severely out classed." Itachi said impressed with Shisui's preformance.

He'd weilded those blades as if they were nothing new to him in no time at all.

Nubutaka nodded also surprised with Shisui's preformance seeing a natural talent for kenjustu in him.

"Woah..." Inoha said shocked at how easily her cousin was just beaten.

Imari could only stand there and blush lightly as she admired the way Shisui had easily used the swords like he'd had them forever.

"Izumi and Anko who didn't know Shisui much came to the conclusion he'd be a very powerful shinobi some day with the skills he'd just shown not only with the bone swords but with the flicker when he disappeared and later reappeared in the same spot not even two seconds later.

Neji was really impressed as he made a mental note to increase his skill with kunai as he'd definitely need more the next time he was paired up against Shisui Uchiha.

Shisui walked over towards Hamura who had just sat up but was still mentally realing from his easy defeat at the hands of his friend.

"You okay bro?" Shisui said offering a hand which Hamura took standing up and matching Shisui's smile with a grin.

"Man that was awesome! I can't believe you beat me so easily we've gotta go for another battle again soon, I gotta get me a better weapon than these kunai! Something that can really compete!" Hamura said looking excited for his friend.

Shisui laughed good naturedly.

"I don't know man these swords are pretty awesome, it'll be hard to find anything like these!" Shisui said taking the blades from the ground and looking at them with admiration.

Imari's blush only deepened as Anko took notice and just realized Shisui was using some of her sisters bone swords.

 _"Hmm."_ Anko thought deciding she'd ask Imari about that later.

"Great battle Shisui, nice job not getting sliced up Hamura." Nubutaka joked causing his little brother to frown as they made their way back towards the others.

"Not funny jerk! I'll do better next time." Hamura said pointing to his brother then Shisui with a confident smirk.

When they got back to the others Shisui was still grinning at the blades he hadn't put away yet as if he was growing more attached to them by the second and Imari was trying not to stare too hard as she could feel the blush on her face.

"Alright next up, Inoha Vs Neji." Nubutaka called.

The two exchanged a glance and made their way to the middle of the usual spot.

"You may begin." Nubutaka said giving the okay to start.

Neji rushed in immediately intent on finishing the battle quickly.

Inoha stood where she was bent her legs slightly and held one hand in line with her head and the other on level with her chest towards her side.

Neji admired the unwavering courage in the girls eyes as he knew there was no way she could possibly defeat him in a nearly pure taijustu battle.

He got within striking range and launched a palm strike towards her, she lifted her right hand catching his and jumping to knee him in the face but Neji was to quick and he raised his other hand blocking the knee with his arm at the last second.

She quickly twisted in the air and swung her other leg towards his guard pushing him a good distance away as he marveled at the force she put into that attack.

"How did she spin in the air so quickly?" Neji thought to himself as she seemed to be floating for a moment before turning and kicking him faster than he'd ever seen her move.

She got back into her stance this time crouching low this time with one hand above her head and one towards the ground.

Neji charged the girl again wondering if she could replicate the move.

He brought his left palm forward which she quickly blocked with her right hand countering with a swing of her left. Neji quickly swiped her hand aside and threw another palm jab shocked his chakra enhanced strikes didn't seem to be affecting her at all.

He picked up his speed and began blitzing her but much to his surprise she always either punched or kicked his attacks to the side and attempted catching him with the same type of spinning kick she'd caught him of guard with a second ago.

He decided to change his target and started going after the chakra points in her shoulders rather than attempting to disable her arms and hands which didn't seem to be working for some reason.

He threw a palm jab towards the girls wrist and just as he thought she took the bait using her left hand to block the attack because that was the hand she preferred for defense.

Neji quickly threw another palm jab towards her left shoulder quicker than he figured her right hand would be able to react but she simply leapt over top of the attack and started delivering a surprising flurry of punches and kicks when she landed putting him on the defensive.

Neji frowned refusing to believe this girl who'd had so lousiest taijustu he'd ever seen up until now had gotten this good over night.

He decided to use nearly his full speed and began launching two palm strikes and jabs per second putting Inoha back on the defensive as his continued increase in speed seemed to easily take her off guard and impressed the observers.

For a moment she faltered in her defense and Neji smirked in his mind knowing that the battle was his as there was no way to defend herself from his next attack. His strike moved rapidly through her lapse in defense towards her left shoulder and he knew that it would hit true.

He was taken off guard when instead of his palm strike hitting her left shoulder and rendering it useless for the remainder of their duel it came into contact with her knee.

Apparently she raised it at the last second using it to block and just holding it there as Neji applied more pressure in attempted to push her off balance.

He frowned as she began grinning slyly still standing on one leg as he continued to apply more pressure to her leg in an attempt to make her fall.

"How did you get so good all of a sudden why aren't my palm strikes affecting you?" The Hyuga demanded irritated the girl had some how improved her taijustu by leaps and bounds.

She contemplated whether she should tell him or not and figured why not it couldn't do much harm.

"I put a thin layer of crystal over my hands that extend to the end of my forearms and my feet that extend towards my knee which I use a crystal release technique to manipulate."

"Honestly I'm hardly even moving my hands and legs right now, I'm just moving the crystal which makes my body move faster than it usually could and much more durable where the crystal covers of course. I've been working on this technique since I found out I had crystal release, that's why my taijustu skills always sucked." Inoha grinned proud of herself.

"So how did you get so good with it so quickly?" Neji asked now understanding why he couldn't close the chakra points in her hands and lower legs.

"Cousin Nubu has a similar technique he uses to applify his speed and reaction time by a crazy amount with ninja wire. I actually took the inspiration for this technique from his version I think he only ever used in his battle with Uncle Yoshikawa and also from how my sister can increase her speed and strength by changing the mass of the bones in her body."

"Up until now in all my taijustu battle's I was just attempting to get a hang of the movements and timing. I already have a good understanding of the Patient Crane style which I can really only use efficiently when I'm using this technique. Nubutaka sama just informed me after our private spar yesterday I was ready to apply everything I've been working on and Imari stayed up with me late last night so I could practice with her first."

Neji nodded and looked at her hands noticing they did short of reflect the sun's light. If her layer of crystal was really so thin maybe if he applied enough chakra he could crack it or send his chakra through it, that or he'd have to disable her arms and legs to win which was proving harder than he would've liked so far.

"I must admit that your technique is quite impressive but don't think it gives you an advantage." Neji said jumping a short distance away and re-entering his stance.

Inoha smiled and did the same.

For a moment the two stood there feeling each other out till Neji rushed forward quickly closing the distance and Inoha did the same.

They continued trading blows and Neji's face showed a slight trace of irritation as he decided to go all out hoping he wouldn't hurt the girl too bad.

Inoha was surprised as his speed increased a third time and the Hyuga started easily throwing three strikes per second clearly having no intention to allow this battle to drag on.

He began to overwhelm the girls defense and finally landed two strikes to the girls shoulders disabling the chakra flow in her arms leaving her nearly defenseless as she could no longer move her arms or control the crystals on them.

Neji countined to pressure the girl as she stubbornly attempted to fight him using only her legs.

She attempted launching a high kick to his face which he easily ducked under and used his leg to sweep her other leg out from under her.

She fell on her back and Neji swung a palm strike at her face stopping just inches away from a startled Inoha.

He pulled his hand back and looked at the girl gaining a new found respect as he used a few palm jabs to reopen her chakra points allowing her to move her arms again.

He offered her a hand and she looked at him in surprise not expecting the Hyuga to be so generous when she was clearly irritating him during their battle and he'd already seem upset about something before hand.

She smiled grateful and took his hand allowing him to pull her to her feet.

"That was great Neji sama! I didn't expect you to be so fast it was like I was fighting two people at once towards the end we should definitely do that again sometime!" Inoha said as her eyes lit up.

"Your palm strikes really hurt though." She said with a grinning at the Hyuga.

Neji let go of her hand and laughed lightly at her light hearted and cheery demeanor even after a defeat and nodded agreeing that it sounded like fun. They both bowed respectfully to the other and made their way back towards the others.

"Hey you didn't bow to me after our spare Shisui baka!" Hamura yelled at his teammate.

"What!? You didn't bow either now that I think about it jerk!" Shisui replied sounding just as outraged as his friend.

"Everyone knows that the winner has to bow first as a show of good sportsmen ship stupid!" Hamura yelled getting in the face of his teammate.

"Noo it's the other way around idiot the losers supposed to bow first as a show of good sportsmen ship!" Shisui shouted as him and Hamura started pushing against the other with their foreheads as Anko and Hamura had done earlier.

Nubutaka sighed as everyone else chuckled at the two teammates.

"You're both actually supposed to bow at the the same time when the duel is over like Neji and Inoha did." Anko commented causing the boys to turn and stare at her with fire in the background.

"You want some of this too fireball!" They both yelled in unison turning their fury towards the chuckling purplet who took a second to realize the boy she didn't know had used Hamura's nickname for her.

"You told your teammates about me?" Anko asked looking at Hamura curiously.

Him and Shisui stopped frowning and the flames died down as he rubbed his head sheepishly for a moment feeling awkward at having that addressed.

Shisui grinned evilly seeing a chance to tease his now nervous friend.

"Oh yeah you were definitely his favorite part about that day. Said it started off bad then got even worse leading up until he meant you and was driven crazy by your attitude, but when you two started eating together at the compond later he found out you were pretty cool and was even kinda sad to see you go." Shisui said with a smirk causing Hamura to shoot him a murderous glare.

"Even told us you were probably the coolest girl he'd ever meant. You know fires his favorite element he really has a thing for it. That's probably why he decided to call you fire ball, am I right Hamura?" Shisui said elbowing his friend in the ribs playfully and wriggling his eyebrows suggestively.

The flames of rage reappeared in the background behind Hamura as he tackled his buddy to the ground and they began fighting each other in a messy tussle as Shisui mostly laughed at the boys anger and tried to dodge punches.

Anko started to chuckle with everyone else but she blushed a bit at that last part figuring he'd seen her as more of an annoyance for some reason.

Out of the entire group Itachi was the only one who hadn't laughed he was too busy making a mental note to one day get back at Shisui for the distress he was causing his teammates when it came to the females they considered to be their friends.

"Okay you two come on, break it up we've still got one more spar to do." Nubutaka said still smiling at the way Shisui had teased his brother as he separated the two.

Shisui was grinning slyly at Hamura who had a look on his face that said I'll get you back for this one day.

"Okay Itachi, Imari. You two are up." The clan head said still chuckling on the inside at Shisui's teasing antics. No doubt he was sure to give his teammates hell in the future when the boys became old enough to truly start seeking and wanting for a romantic relationship.

For some reason he felt like Shisui was the type who wouldn't know romance if it flickered behind him and knocked him over the head.

"Good luck with that one little cousin." He thought glancing at Imari as her and Itachi came to stand across from each other in the middle of the field.

Imari created two new bone swords as she given Shisui the pair she'd normally used.

Itachi drew a single kunai and stood at the ready.

Imari twirled her swords and got into her usual stance knowing she'd have to try her hardest if she was to have any chance at beating Itachi.

Nubutaka signaled the start of the match and Izumi wasted no time rushing her opponent.

Itachi pulled two more kunai from his pouch and threw them at the girl.

She slashed them out of the way rather than dodging as Itachi figured she would but had hoped against.

She made a vertical slash at him as soon as she got within range which he quickly blocked with his kunai.

She decided to go all out from the start as she began slashing wildly leaving Itachi no time to counter as he had to constantly defend himself.

She gracefully leapt over him spinning as she did with her blades out striking at Itachi from above as he saw the attack had managed to chip his kunai.

She landed on the other side and made another vertical slash which Itachi evaded quickly spinning around and making another vertical strike which Itachi had to block as she'd gotten closer.

She spun again this time hitting his kunai three times in rapid succession breaking the blade off from the handle.

Itachi flickered away to gain some distance and quickly pulled out another kunai knocking her blade which she'd threw after him into the air she was quickly upon him right afterwards, wielding her remaining blade with both hands making stronger but slightly less accurate strikes than before as she was used to duel wielding.

She flipped backwards kicking her other sword which was falling to the ground towards Itachi creating a bone dagger and rushing straight back in behind the sword which Itachi had redirected using a kunai.

They engaged in a kenjustu battle again as Itachi noted this girls sword skills seemed to far exceed his skills with a kunai which wasn't all that surprising considering his strength were ninjustu and genjustu and all she really ever seemed to work on was her kenjustu.

Good thing he'd already prepared for that posibility.

He flickered away again and threw a number of kunai at the girl which were all quickly knocked to the side as she attempted to close the distance between them once again.

Itachi pulled out two kunai this time warding off the girls assualt to the best of his abilities occasionally backing up and hurling more towards her all of which she blocked.

Eventually he'd run through all his kunai besides the one he had in his hand and she paused in her assault wondering why it seemed so easy.

Even if Itachi's kenjustu skills with a kunai weren't so great he was excellent when it came to hand to hand combat and shurieken techniques, and he hadn't even used a single clone or the sharingan yet.

"What are you playing at?" Imari asked warily.

"Whatever do you mean?" Itachi asked feinging ignorance.

"You know what, even if my kenjustu skills are better than yours if you activated the sharingan you would stand a better chance and if you did you wouldn't even need to use a kunai because you could totally stomp me in taijustu if you wanted to." Izumi said knowing he was plotting something.

"I don't think it would be as easy for me as you say but that being said I have been planning something this entire time." Itachi remarked throwing his last kunai to towards the girls right which she quickly knocked away.

Izumi felt it when she'd moved her sword, felt it cutting through something and knew she'd messed up. She'd set off the Uchiha's trap for him just as he'd planned.

Before she could move a sizable tangle of dull ninja wire closed in on the girl locking her in place as she looked around the battlefield and saw he'd been throwing his kunai at her in a very precise manner anticipating where they'd end up after she blocked them.

"I did create a clone using no hand seals by the way, the ground is hollow in certain places thanks to some of the earth style techniques that get used in this field so I created him underneath the ground we stand on. When you knocked away one of my kunai that went into the woods I had him substitute with it as was planned."

Itachi said as the clone flickered from it's hiding spot in the tree's beside them holding a tangle of ninja wire connected to kunai she'd knocked into the forest.

"The clone was to surve as insurance should the original plan fail and it was also detrimental in the wire trap considering where in an open field next to the forest instead of inside it and I needed some way to manipulate the wires so the trap would work." Itachi said as him as his clone started cutting the wires as it was readily clear he'd just won.

"Good thinking there, seems like something Bubu sama would do." Imari said referring to her cousin.

"Thanks, you were pretty good yourself." Itachi complemented as he finished untying her and they both bowed respectfully before making there way back to the others.

"Good work today kiddos, we'll take a little break and do team spares later today."

"Alright!" Shisui said grateful Nubutaka wasn't busy today and he'd get another chance to test his bone swords before their little sparing group dispersed.

Nubutaka wondered what was taking his clone so long to find Hatsue.

She probably thought it was the real him and the clone was spending the day with her, if something bad had happened the clone would've dispersed and he'd of known by now so it couldn't be important.

Still he wondered why she hadn't been showing up at the compond on the weekends lately but figured she was tired and they'd talk about it later.

"So before we start the evening sessions you guys wanna go find my new student?" Nubutaka asked smiling at the group thinking of the look the kid would probably adopt at seeing all these people come to visit him.

 **Underground NEE facility**

Orochimaru paused in his work feeling a familiar presence entire the room.

He was growing tired of the man's constant interruptions but as he'd said before sometimes sacrifices in the name of research were necessary.

It still impressed him that besides his voice he'd never heard the man making a sound of any kind unless it was deliberate.

He walked with complete silence as was common for most experienced shinobi but not only that the man entired and exited the room with it's metal doors without the slightest hint of a sound.

Usually the only indicator of the man's presence when he stepped into the room was the cold feeling that'd suddenly sweep through the air that Orochimaru was sure even lesser shinobi were at least slightly aware of.

He had to give it to the man his title did suite him well as he was a ninja constantly moving within the shadows and hardly left any trace or indication of his presence wherever it was he went.

"Danzo..." Orochimaru said not in the mood for pleasantries or games seeing as he was so close to finishing his work.

Soon he would be able to go back to pursuing his original plans and this little experiment of theirs would only prove to assist him further in achieving his goals.

Danzo didn't reply for a moment he simply continued to stare at the man's back as was usual for the man when he had something important to address.

"It has come to my attention you approached a certain young purple haired kunochi in training yesterday and asked her if she would consider becoming your apprentice."

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow turning slightly to eye the man.

"Perhaps...why ever are you inquiring into something so trivial, surely you can spare me one untrained NEE agent for my services." The Snake said knowing the girls status wasn't so simple.

"I don't consider you approaching someone inside of my facility and undermining my authority by requesting they train under you to be a trivial matter." Danzo said as his eye narrowed slightly.

"Your services are already being paid in full as we both know you'll benefit from the success of this just as much as I to suggest I owe you anything is to try my patience more so than you already seem fond of doing."

The snake man smirked going back to the man he had cut open on the opperating table.

"And for me to offer your daughter an apprenticeship under the greatest of the sannin is an honor only a fool would refuse."

Danzo's eye narrowed further as he frowned at the man's back.

"How do you know of such things?" Danzo said in a threatening tone contemplating just killing the snake.

"I had my beloved Kabuto tail her after she left the facility of course and we were both quite surprised to find she headed straight to the Shimura clan compond. So dear my Shimura San...do tell me the story behind the girl."

"An adopted street urchin you perhaps saw some kind of talent in, a distance cousin of some sort who you've been keeping a secret, or perhaps a real daughter you've been attempting to keep hidden from the rest of Konoha until she reached a certain age?"

"Honestly the possibility of a man like you having a biological daughter is quite surprising as I'm almost certain you've never known the love or the comfort of a woman."

"Shame really seeing as the wind style chakra nature the Shimura's were known for is quite rare throughout all the lands and I doubt you intent to produce offspring if your body still possess that capability at this age that is." Orochimaru said smirk growing wider as he turned to look fully at Danzo.

"Though if you'd like I'd be more than willing to run some test and provide you with assistance in the matter. In exchange I'd only ask that upon the birth of your firstborn child they be handed over to me as I've always need of more wind style users in my ranks, you'll be free to keep the rest though." Orochimaru said going back to his work sounding as if he'd like to chuckle at his own comment.

Danzo considered cutting the man's arm off for his crude comments but decided against it as he was still needed in the man's plan.

"Who the girl is to me is of no concern to you, but if you'd like to offer her training I think we may be able to come to an agreement of sorts to have her train under you." Danzo said knowing an opportunity when he saw one.

Not only was Orochimaru one of the most powerful ninja the village ever produced but it was possible he'd be the perfect shinobi instructor for young Anko as the girl occasionally showed all the characteristics of a snake, characteristics Orochimaru himself displayed and used greatly to his advantage.

"Ohh..." Orochimaru crooned turning back around not expecting that sort of answer in the slightest.

"What kind of agreement did you have in mind?" He asked the man trying to keep his smile casual as the prospect of training the talented young kunochi hopeful seemed to really appeal to him.

"You will takeover the girls training rejimen in place of NEE opperative 122 and in name she will be your apprentice but you are to remember the girl belongs to me."

"Why would I agree to train the girl under these conditions? She would be my first apprentice after all and I don't see a point in teaching someone all of my skills and justu just to have them pay loyalty to someone else."

"Simple...you desire true immortality but as a way to ensure your steady survival as you are you require strong vessels, which is why you're secretly working on that hidden village of yours in the land of rice patties. The girl would serve as a potential vessel for you should you need her, one already fully trained to utilize most of your skills and abilities making her one of your greatest living assets."

Orochimaru started chuckling menacely at the man's statement wondering if he knew how crazy he sounded right now.

"So you'd be willing to offer her to me in the case that I should ever need a new vessel if I agree to training her?" The snake inquired grinning widley.

"Of course not, but with you being the man you are I'm sure you'd consider yourself capable of retrieving her at anytime." Danzo said reproachfully.

"Good point." Orochimaru said thinking it over.

"Very well Danzo, I shall begin supervising the girls training regimen and in my down time I shall take it upon myself to train her personally." The snake said grinning and removing a bloody glove to shake hands with the man.

Danzo looked at the hand wondering why everyone preferred to shake on agreements when that was the easiest way to get oneself a kunai to the back.

Warily he took the man's hand and shook on it ending the gesture of mutual agreement quickly.

He began to leave the room when Orochimaru asked him to wait for a moment and take a look at something he had inside a jar in the far left corner of the room.

Danzo walked towards the jar watchful for deception of any kind as he always was when he saw something inside the jar that surprised and greatly pleased him both at the same time.

"So you've finally done it then?" He asked hoping this meant he would soon have the ultimate scapegoat he'd long been looking for.

"Indeed I did and I'll now be able to replicate the process on any specimen your men should bring me."

"Now we just need three more bodies and a cloning tank where I can replicate the cells of Hashirama senju and you shall have the arm you so desire. If you don't mind me asking where did you learn of the Izanagi anyway?" Orochimaru asked as he hadn't even known of the justu before the man explained his reason for wanting the arm.

"One of the many things Lord Tobirama informed me to be careful of when concerning the Uchiha." The man answered gazing inside the jar with the two sharingan in it.

"Ahh, I wonder what other secrets the eyes of the Uchiha are hiding." Orochimaru said wondering if the sharingan assimilated into the Monogahi bloodline had the same capabilities as the original.

"The samples you've provided me are more than enough to replicate the sharingan in three more vessels but I'd appreciate it if you'd provide me the chance to extract some spinal fluid from the twins in exchange for my services."

"Once your new arm is complete I will return to my lab in the land of rice patties for a time but I will be back after a short while to continue young Anko's training." Orochimaru said going as he poured a drop of clear liquid onto the heart of the poor man on the opperating table.

"And why is it you're seeking after the twins spinal fluid when in your own words the blood of the Monogahi holds every gene of the clan you could have ever hoped for?"

Orochimaru grinned knowing Danzo would question him on this.

"While the clans genetics do run stronger in their blood than can be found in most, the spinal fluid is still one of the purest sources of DNA that can be found inside of the human body. While you know I seek the sharingan having two sharingan which aren't attuned to my body would only serve as a hindrance."

"I seek a body that can use the eyes of the Uchiha for all their worth and not only that, but having a Monogahi body will just put me one step closer to discovering the secrets of ninjustu, the way they assimilate the genes of others as easily as one may learn a new justu is simply an ostounding matter I must do my best to understand and make use of." The snake said with a grin planning on just kidnapping the twins if the man should refuse his request.

"When you put it like that perhaps we can come to a compromise concerning that." Danzo said as the snakes statement gave him and idea beyond that which he'd already had in mind.

"If one can do better than what's already intended, why not do better." The man thought before explaining what he'd neen in return if he was to get the snake the spinal fluid he wanted.

Orochimaru began chuckling wildly at the man's plan. Danzo was no doubt an ambitious man if anything but he agreed finding the terms more than acceptable, interesting to implement even. It'd be a pleasure to see exactly what would come out of it he was sure.

 **Konoha residential district**

Tsunade opened the door and ushered the kids in finding Shizune waiting for them near the front door as soon as they'd stepped inside.

"Hello kiddos, my name is Shizune and I'll be your caretaker from here on! I'm really excited for the chance to get to know you all and I hope you'll want to get to know me too. If you guys have any questions or anything feel free to ask!" Shizune said developing a cheery persona Tsunade had never seen from her before.

 _"Maybe this'll be better for her than I thought."_

The kids had all gathered around the woman asking her a number of questions all of them mainly revolving around why she was holding a pig.

Shizune seemed happy to answer their questions as she asked all of them their names and ages before taking them on a tour of the house and asking them if they would like to go shopping with her later.

The kids all seemed to brighten considerably more at the prospect of going clothes and food shopping with their kid new caretaker and Shizune brightened more in response.

Tsunade figured she'd stay with the woman for a while before heading back to the hospital to make sure her and the kids got comfortably settled in.

 **Hokages Office**

"Who's the letter from old man?" Jiriya said in response to Hiruzen opening a letter from a messenger hawk.

"One of our shinobi squads tasked with gathering Intel on the Raikages plan for our meeting in a few months."

Jiriya sighed wondering it what his sensei had sent those squads into enemy territory for was a good idea nevermind the anbu squads who were currently laying seige to civilian villages for no reason other than just to show they could.

"I still gotta say sensei I don't know if what you're doing is a good idea. I understand gathering Intel as well as delivering a message that's been long overdue but Kumo isn't really the type to just take what we're doing laying down once we've been found out."

Hiruzen smirked knowing what Jiriya meant but having already had a plan that'd prevent Kumo from retaliation ahead of time.

"Which is exactly why I've had skilled Yamanaka inserted into every anbu and intelligence squad. Most shinobi who wake up will have the recollection of being attacked by Iwa nin and it'll only be the civilians who'll be able to recall the anbu who attacked their village weren't from rock country and we all know most civilians can't identify the differences in anbu of different nation's."

"The only true indication of the raids actually being launched by our village will be the words of retired shinobi among the civilian population, as well as the standard Konoha kunai left behind as evidence. With a bunch of conjecture and confusion on the matter it'd be most unwise for the Raikage to start a war when the country actually suffered no loses due to the raids."

"His soundest choice of action will be to address the matter with me during our meeting a few months from now. Knowing the shakey ground Kumo and Iwa have been on ever since the third great ninja war he wouldn't bother to question the Tsuchikage on the matter as there's no amount of trust between the two."

"The villages can only ally themselves when it comes to standing against us but otherwise their bitter enemies due to the skirmishes that took place between them in the war. If there's one thing our enemies know about the leadership of Konoha it's that we've never felt the need to lie about anything, something I'm sure they hold against us as a shinobi and a shinobi village with no need of deception is a powerful one indeed." Hiruzen finished looking to Jiriya waiting on his thoughts.

"When you put it that way that plan of yours does sound pretty solid." The sannin commented rather impressed with his sensei.

"The Hokage hats made you something of a genius when it comes to these sorts of things huh?" Jiriya said smiling at his teacher who chuckled at the complement.

"Although I'd love to take sole credit for the plan it was Shikaku and Danzo who came together to suggest such a thing and actually convinced me to go through with it. The Hokage hat has just made me an old man sooner than I would have liked to be." Hiruzen said smiling at his own comment.

"Please sensei, you were practically an old man before me and Tsunade left the village, don't blame the hat." Jiriya smirked at his teacher.

Hiruzen smiled fondly at his old memories then looked thoughtfully to the hat that sat in the corner of his desk.

"I suppose you're right but I think it time I made another attempt at naming a successor."

"Oh boy..." Jiriya thought knowing this conversation would come eventually.

"That being said I think you'd make an excellent Hokage now that you're back in the village and decided upon staying this time."

Jiriya sighed knowing that was coming.

"Sorry sensei but if we're being truthful I could never handle the Hokage hat, it requires discipline and a work ethic I just don't possess in all honesty."

Hiruzen smirked knowing that'd likely be the man's response.

"Oh I'm more than aware of that, which is why I was going to ask Tsunade be appointed fifth Hokage and you take the title of sixth."

Jiriya did a double take wondering if he'd just heard him right replaying the words in his head to come to the realization he did.

"Surely you aren't saying you mean to appoint two Hokages to serve in office at once?" He questioned the man tilting his head slightly.

"Oh but I do it is exactly as you said, you lack the discipline and work ethic to handle all of the paperwork while holding on to your sanity. I thought maybe an assistant could be appointed to you who could help you along those lines but occasionally you'd still have trouble just fitting into the role you'd be made to serve."

"Tsunade has all the discipline and work ethic needed to deal with the endless paperwork and long hours of the job while lacking the finesse along with the people skills it calls for that you have in spades."

"Your strengths would greatly compensate for the weaknesses you both possess and when I think about it the two of you serving in this office together with Danzo and Shikaku behind you would likely make for a better Hokage than myself after you've had a bit of time to adjust to the role."

Jiriya was shocked at what his sensei was saying.

"But there's never been two Kage at once in the history of any of the great villages, is that even possible?"

Hiruzen smiled at the question expecting that as well.

"The hidden leaf is the village that established the entire system the world lives by today. Who could possibly tell us we can't have two Kage at once?"

"Besides sometimes both of you can be a bit extreme in your views on certain matters and I think you'll do good to balance each other out."

Jiriya thought it over for a moment before sighing again wondering if the Hokage hat was just driving his sensei crazy or putting him in a rush to find a worthy successor.

"I don't know sensei I'll have to think about it."

Hiruzen smiled glad he hadn't at least been turned down by either of his students as Tsunade had took a bit more convincing but she'd said the same thing.

"I'm glad you'll take the thought into consideration but I should warn you my time to pass the hat to someone else draws nearer and nearer I can't serve as Hokage forever as admittedly my skills are only a shadow of what they used to be."

"The only other options I find for the job are Danzo who we both know can't really be taken into consideration for an option and Fugaku Uchiha who I don't have many problems with but I don't think the village would respond kindly to an Uchiha Kage."

"Not so soon after the rumors about the clan are just beginning to die down and admittedly the man is a bit to hardened to be a Hokage, he reminds me of Lord Tobirama in that sense but the second also loved everyone in this village as if they were members of his own family. Fugaku loves the village but all of it's citizens might just be another story entirely."

Jiriya nodded understanding where his master was coming from.

"So while I'm mulling over this decision you so ruthlessly dumped on me I might as well go prepare for that meeting with Taki in a few days." Jiriya said standing up and stretching his arms.

"I suppose so, will you be taking young Naruto along with you?" The Hokage asked knowing the boy hardly left Jiriya's sis since he'd returned to the village.

The toad sage seemed to think it over in his head for a bit before nodding a resounding no.

"If it's a trap of some kind I'd rather the kid didn't get caught up in it so I'll ask Tsunade if she can watch him for me till I get back." Jiriya said making his way to the door to the office.

"Be sure to tell him of your departure before you go or he may just be heart broken feeling as if you've abandoned him." Hiruzen said as he attached a new sheet of paper to the messenger hawk and summonded another one to send it to one of his anbu units.

"Of course old man I'm not heartless." Jiriya said waving over his back as he exited the office.

Hiruzen smiled and turned in his chair to look at the visuals of his teachers on the Hokage monument.

 _"Things are finally seeming to go Konoha's way again sensei's. I do hope the village is on the right path."_

 **I wanted to make this chapter longer but I didn't want to keep you guys waiting considering my last update was me saying I gave up on the story once again I apologise about that.** **I took something from another fic I read and placed it in this chapter when it comes to kunai having characteristics that allowed shinobi to discern what village their from.** **I don't remember what fic I read that in but if I do I will give the person full credit as I'd never intentionally plagiarize the work of another writer.**

 **Izumi was the special character if you didn't notice. I never really intended to include her in this fic but when the Imari/Shisui ship hit me out of nowhere after their sparing match in the last chapter I figured I couldn't just leave Itachi hanging seeing as you have Hamura/Anko and now Shisui x Imari.**

 **She'll be a part of our usual story cast now and I've been trying to bring in more canon characters**.

 **If you guys have any characters you'd like to see this early into the story I'd be happy to try to find a place in it for them just let me know. I've been trying to find more canon characters that'll be relavent this early into the story and that was more inspiration for me to bring Izumi in so I'm open you your suggestions.**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter.**

 **Fun** **fact #7**

 **Genin in my fic are probably chunin level in the real Naruto verse, I mean did u see the great ninja war? The only thing those guys were good for is dying and come on let's be honest. The only thing any character that wasn't on the main line up was good for was showing off some kind of special ability, explaining something, advancing the storyline or dying. You'll find all shinobi in my fic even the fodder actually deserve the title shinobi.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry but this chapters gonna be really short guys I should've just added all this into the last chapter but like I said I didn't wanna keep you guys waiting. It's so short though because at this point in the story there aren't really many important things going down that need to be mentioned on screen.**

The angelic demon brat

Orochimaru walked through the halls of the NEE facility taking a short break unsurprised that he didn't see Anko training today but surprised to see another face that didn't fit in with the rest of the NEE opperatives, and wondering who they were.

"Hello." The snake said stopping in front of the woman wondering what someone dressed as a civilian was doing down here.

She turned to face the man and paled considerably upon taking in his features and seeing the slit irises.

"Your-"

"Orochimaru of the Sannin at your service." Orochimaru said giving a formal bow. "Tell me young one, what's a shinobi doing in a NEE facility wearing civilians clothes?" He asked arching a brow and stepping closer.

She took a step backwards not trusting the man who was know as Konoha's biggest traitor. She'd heard of some of the henious acts he committed and wondered if Danzo knew he was here?

"I-I'm- this is my day off." She said attempting to mask the fear she felt in face of the man who gave off a strong aura of power that was not to be ignored.

Unlike Danzo's aura which was cold and illected respect this man's aura was suffocating and only inspired fear.

"Your day off you say?" The man said with a grin as he stepped closer towards the girl.

"I wasn't aware of the fact Danzo gave his opperatives rest days." He said phrasing the statement like a question.

Hatsue felt her heart rate increasing and began to wish she'd of never ressorted to running inside this specific hideout to evade her sensei's sensory abilities.

"I'm not a regular NEE opperative." She said backing further away from the man as the man continuesly advanced slowly towards her.

Orochimaru's grin widened loving the smell of fear she gave off as much to his annoyance no one else he'd meant in this facility so far seemed to have enough emotion or care enough for their own lives to fear him.

Besides his new apprentice who still hadn't shown any fear when standing under the potent influence of the man's aura which was another thing that'd inpressed him about her.

"So then little flower, who are you?" He asked backing the girl against a wall.

"I-I'm H-Hatsue Uchiha."

Orochimaru's eyes widened slightly at her statement having never expected to see an Uchiha down here. He wondered if she'd unlocked her sharingan and exactly why she was inside of a NEE facility.

"Uchiha you say...have you unlocked those wonderful eyes of your clan by any chance?" He asked licking his lips and placing and arm against the wall right above her shoulder.

"N-No..." She said attempting to avert her gaze from the man as she felt if she kept looking directly into his eyes she might fient from the intensity of his stare.

"You wound me my dear lying openly to one of your betters in such a way." Orochimaru tsked shaking his head. "I mean you no harm considering you're one of Danzo's pets, I simply wish to see them is all." Orochimaru said not entirely upset as he could understand her reasons for lying to a man like himself.

Hatsue pushed back the fear she was feeling and activated the eyes gazing at the man with a mixture of fear and annoyance just wishing he'd leave her to wallow in her self pity.

"Ahhh marvelous, simply marvelous! I see you've already fully developed those lovely eyes of yours, oh the things you must have seen poor creature." He crooned looking truly delighted.

Her sharingan seemed to give her courage as she scowled at the man and pushed herself off the wall and under his arm to stand behind him and start backing up warily.

 _"I won't be intimidated by traitorous scum!_ _I am an Uchiha!"_

"What do you want from me snake!" The woman growled looking at him with anger and barely restrained fear.

Orochimaru chuckled much preferring this fiery side of the woman to the cowering and fearful side he was toying with just a moment ago.

"That's more like it dear, use that anger it ma-"

"Orochimaru!" A cold voice that was familiar to the both of them came from one of the many shadows in the maze of a corridor.

The sannin scowled turning to address the unwelcome interruption.

"What is it now Danzo?" The snake hissed at having the most fun he'd had since coming to this facility interrupted.

"What have I told you of overstepping your boundaries in my facility? You've no business with this woman and I believe you still have work to be seen to." Danzo said frowning at the man who continued to press his buttons.

Orochimaru returned the look before turning back to the woman and smiling slyly at her before walking back in the direction towards the lab.

"We shall meet again, Hatsue Uchiha. Do remember to hold on to that fire girl, fear is only self persecution those who are weak impose on themselves. It only serves as a limiter for those who are too afriad to tread rough waters without life preservers."

Hatsue stood there for a moment contemplating the meaning of his words before shivering and hoping he wasn't speaking the truth when he said they would meet again.

Danzo simply watched the snake take his leave and looked to Hatsue noticing her sharingan was active.

He was impressed she attempted to stand her ground against someone such as Orochimaru but he noticed there seemed to be some kind of emotional distress within the girls eyes.

He disregarded that discovery as her emotions were of no concern to him.

"Why are you here?" He asked coldly as this was one of the NEE facilities she was told she wasn't to enter.

"I'm sorry lord Danzo but I had need to avoid the sensory abilities of my master and he would have caught me if I'd of attempted to make my way to one of the farther facilities." The girl said letting her sharingan deactivate as she looked down feeling more exhausted and emotionally drained than she had earlier.

"That is no excuse for disobedience Uchiha. You are to speak to no one of what you've seen here, am I clear." Danzo said in a threatening tone that sent a chill down her spine.

"Hai, lord Danzo sama." Hatsue said bowing respectfully.

Danzo continued to observe the girl for a moment longer before taking his leave.

 _"I think this is something that lord Fugaku will definitely want to know about."_ The girl thought deciding she'd need to wait a few days as Danzo was no doubt going to be critical of her actions now that she knew he was harboring a traitor.

She collapsed on the floor and began contemplating her next move.

She couldn't go home and smile in the faces of her parents like everything was okay. Ever since she'd taken the woman's life she was constantly haunted by the faces of all the people she'd killed.

She curled into a ball in the corner and began to sob gently into her lap hoping that this time she wouldn't be discovered.

 **Konoha residential district**

"Wow Shizune san these clothes are awesome!" One of the kids yelled sounding excited after changing into their new outfit.

"I'm glad you think so! I'll be sure to pick up more outfits like that for you the next time I go shopping then."

"Oh my gosh baa chan this house is awesome! It's super big and they've got a garden with a little ground pool you can swim in in the back."

Tsunade sighed looking at a wet Naruto and knowing he was talking about the koi pond in the back of the house.

"That's not a pool kid you guys didn't hurt the fish did you?"

A few of the kids who'd ran inside with the blonde boy who were also dripping wet quickly shared a look and ran back outside unwilling to share the punishment they thought was to come.

Naruto upon noticing his friends bailed on him smiled sheepishly and began rubbing the back of his head.

"Deepends on what you mean by hurt, hehehe."

Tsunade smiled at the boys cute expression and his evasion of the question.

"Don't worry about it kid I'll take care of it later, just be sure to tell the other kids that thing isn't a pool and it's not for playing in."

"Right, you got it Tsunade baa chan!" The boy said rushing back outside.

"I'm surprised you let him call you that?" Shizune said knowing whenever he said it it made her sensei feel old.

"Just for now while he's still cute and too young to punch." Tsunade smirked as Shizune chuckled feeling sorry for Naruto in the future.

"Hey ladies something smells delicious in here." Jiriya said coming into the kitchen and looking at the food Shizune was preparing.

"I wanted to give the kids a really nice warm meal for our first meeting and I know this'll be something they love." Shizune said glad to hear her food smelled delicious.

"Those brats are gonna be spoiled in no time with you as there caretaker." Jiriya said grinning and folding his arms.

Tsunade started chuckling from her seat at the counter.

"I told her the same thing." Tsunade said raising something towards her lips.

Jiriya took notice of the bowl with the clear liquid in her hand and quickly swiped it without spilling a drop.

"Hey!" Tsunade shouted.

"Isn't it a bit early to be drinking hime?" Jiriya asked raising a brow.

"Maybe for you but I come from a long line of people with high tolerance, it's never too early if you're a Senju."

"Pffft high tolerance my butt, I bet when the girls found you you were drunk off your ass before that battle." Jiriya said downing the rest of the sannins drink.

The scowl she sent his way was murderous causing Jiriya to pale a bit as he backed up a few feet in case he needed to run.

"Super spikey haired toad sensei! Bout time you showed up Jusino and Amar were asking about you." Naruto said grabbing the man's hand and beginning to pull him towards the garden.

 _"Saved by the kid."_ Jiriya said breathing a sigh of relief

"I do plan on going to say hi but before that I've gotta tell you I'll be leaving the village tomorrow to go on a mission."

Naruto deflated as he realized the man who he'd been spending the majority of his time with would be leaving again.

"How long will you be gone this time?" He asked letting go of the man's hand and looking at him with sad eyes.

"Don't worry kid I should only be gone for about a week or two and I'm sure Tsunade wouldn't mind keeping you company until I come back."

Naruto smiled upon hearing he wouldn't be gone for long causing Jiriya to do the same grateful for his godson's cheery disposition.

"Just make sure you aren't gone for that long or I'm gonna come find you myself this time!" Naruto said punching Jiriya in the leg playfully.

"You got it kid I'll be quick about it, besides...who could stay away from Ichiraku ramen for long after being reunited with the magical noodle masters food." Jiriya grinned.

"That's the spirit! Now come on, Amar and Jusino said they wanted to thank you and ask you about the academy!" Naruto said once again dragging the man towards the gardens.

 **Konoha apartment complex**

Nubutaka sighed realizing no one was in the apartment and he must've missed the boy again.

"Well he isn't home...again." He said to the group who'd travelled with him to the apartment.

"This guy must be never home." Imari said sounding frowning.

"Well then sensei can we take this opportunity to go grab a bite or something, your treat?" Shisui asked with a playful grin.

"I guess I don't see why not, where'd you guys like to eat?"

"Anywhere with dango!" Shisui and Anko chirped at the same time.

"Please no." Itachi interjected shutting the two down causing Shisui to pout and Anko to frown.

"What's your problem with dangos?" Anko questioned not knowing what anyone could have against the delectable little treats.

"Itachi usually doesn't like things that are awesome...besides Izumi I guess." Shisui teased causing Itachi to frown at his friends playful antics while Izumi attempted to hide her blush.

"I say we get some barbeque from an Akamichi restaurant cause no one does it like the Akamichi!" Hamura chirped in excitedly causing Imari to nod in agreement.

"Barbeque is too fatty and unhealthy for you, I say we go get something nice and light like maybe some Ramen or something." Inoha said causing Neji and Itachi to nod in agreement with her.

"Hamburgers and french fries!" Hamura yelled really in the mood for something greasy and unhealthy.

"Whatever cousin Hamura calls for!" Imari said loving all her cousins ideas.

"Any place with dangos!" Shisui and Anko yelled unwilling to be out done.

"Ramen." Inoha Itachi and Neji said in unison unwilling to engage in the scream fest.

Nubutaka looked at Izumi and realized she wasn't saying anything.

"What do you think we should go for Izumi?"

The girl jumped at suddenly having all eyes on her and looked around not wanting to displease anyone.

"I don't know... I'll eat whatever you guys decide on." She said quickly trying to avoid taking sides.

"Prime ribs, steak and bacon, soul food!" Hamura yelled enthusiastically attempting to drown out any doubt in the others.

"What cousin Hamura said!" Imari cosigned really in the mood for some fine greasy food or some barbeque like her cousin.

"Dangos!" Anko yelled trying to out do Hamura as she really wanted some more of the delicious treats she'd been missing out on her entire life until this day.

"What Anko said!" Shisui cosigned really wanting some dango as they hardly ever ate it as a group and he could really go for something sweet right now.

The ramen group stared at the other two like if they yelled what they wanted again they might just attack them and the other two groups looked ready to come to blows as it was.

Nubutaka sighed having hoped Izumi would be the voice of reason but understanding why she wasn't getting involved. He wondered if Naruto was here what would he want to eat. (We all know what he'd pick lol)

"Okay how's about we just go grab a few dangos and make our way back towards the compond. I'm sure Jaku can make everybody whatever it is all of you would like to eat." He offered attempting to keep the peace.

"That sounds awesome!" Shisui said as the others all nodded agreeing with his statement.

"Back to the compond it is. Let's play tag on the way, tag your it." Nubutaka smirked tapping Hamura's shoulder and leaping to the closest roof in a sprint towards the compond.

"Hey!" Hamura yelled indignant at his brothers sneak attack.

Everyone else quickly followed suite taking off across the roof tops as Hamura smirked giving chase intent on not being the one who was it when they reached the compond.

 **Konoha slum**

"I don't know it feels like I'm being watched although I can't really explain it." A short man said looking across the table at a retired shinobi

"What do you mean by that?" He asked seeking for more information.

"Well the police force conducted a search of one of my house's a while ago but they found nothing. A short while after that I've began to feel like I'm being followed and watched everywhere I go."

"Isn't it illegal for the police force to do such a thing without reason?"

"Look, I didn't ask you to ask me a thousand questions I just wanted to know if you could protect me or not?!" The man said getting upset.

The shinobi retiree simply smirked from across the table and sat up to eye the man curiously before once again leaning back.

"Sounds like you're in some pretty deep shit. How much would my services be worth to you?" The man asked curiously.

One of Alfonz Jugo's civilian bodyguards placed a heavy bag of ryo on the table in front of the man.

"This is what I can pay you up front along with 5000 Ryo a week but you'll also be given hush money to ensure you keep quiet about any of my business dealings you may witness."

The man wistled appreciatively leaning forward to asset the heavy coin sack.

"This must mean a great deal to you...fine, I'll ensure no one's following you shinobi or otherwise, just make sure those guys stay out of my way." The man said pointing to the civilian guards.

The councilman grinned glad he'd come to this bar as the man seemed confident in his abilities and he'd heard good things about him.

"They shouldn't be too much of a problem, you can start working for me immediatly but I'll give you some time to spend some of that money first."

The shinobi smiled liking the man's style a bit as most clients would now be rather pushy about him starting his work.

"I'll only require and hour or two then and I can get started." The man said grabbing the money and standing to go order some drinks and two of his favorite prostitutes that worked out of this specific bar.

Little did he know Jugo only extended that curtiousy because he suspected he'd do as much and literally everything in this bar that was making any money besides the man himself and the random gamblers belonged to him.

 **A few hours later**

Naruto and Tsunade had just seen Jiriya off on his diplomatic mission to the hidden village of Taki and were now walking back towards the big house the sannin now shared with Shizune and a handful of former street urchins.

Tsunade noticed Naruto staring oddly into space as if he had something on his mind.

"Are you okay Naruto?" She asked wondering what he was thinking.

He turned to look at her thoughtfully before smiling and nodding.

"Hey, you think I could go grab a bowl at Ichiraku's and meet you back at the house?" He said knowing he'd be staying with her while his legal guardian was gone.

"Sure kid, but you don't want me to come with you?" Tsunade asked wondering why he suddenly wanted to be by himself when usually the kid always would ask people to accompany him whenever he went to the ramen stand.

"Nah I'm probably gonna sit and chat with Ayame and old man Techui for a while and I know you get bored pretty quick so it's okay." He said unaware of the hopefully look he had in his eyes.

Tsunade didn't know why he wanted to be alone and it even heart her a bit to hear it but she relented rubbing his hair affectionately before giving him some money for ramen and telling him to be safe.

Naruto smiled grateful to the woman and began walking towards the ramen stand observing the villagers as he passed them.

It was just as he'd thought the hateful glares he was so used to receiving only stopped when Tsunade or Jiriya was walking with him the villagers still hated him as much as they always had but that knowledge didn't make him sad for some reason he even developed a small smile as he continued on his way.

His smile disappeared upon hearing a voice that sounded scared coming from an alley close by thanks to his hearing which was better than that of most people. He turned deciding to find out what it was before he got his ramen.

He came to the alley he'd heard the voice coming from and walked a bit further inside seeing three kids who looked a year or two older than him surrounding a girl with teary white eyes in a dirty lavender white kimono that looked like it'd just gotten that way.

"I-I'm really sorry I bumped into you running around the corner, I was just in a hurry to find my mother." The girl said looking like the tears in her eyes were gonna fall from her face in any second.

"Shut up freak! You think you can apologise now after you already did it? We don't care if you can't find your mommy no one bumps into me abd gets away with it! Especially some freak with creepy white eyes like yours." One of the boys said pushing the girl into another who laughed and pushed her into the other who did the same.

Their fun didn't last long as they quickly found their shoving circle interrupted when a blonde kid who was younger than them decked the biggest boy in the face and quickly pushed one of the others to the ground pulling the girl behind him and frowning at the group.

"I can't believe you guys are just gonna stand here and bully this girl for fun when she said she was sorry! Can't you see she's crying!?"

The bigger one stood up looking just as furious as the blonde boy who'd interrupted their fun.

"Bad move kid! You're gonna be the one who's crying next!"

Naruto turned his head slightly so he could address the girl while still keeping most of his attention on the boys.

"Now that their attentions on me just get out of here. I'll hold them off and make sure they don't follow you, go find your mom okay." He whispered sparing her a small grin.

He turning back towards the bullies with a frown and ran forward engaging in a brawl with all three of them not really attempting to win but just attempting to hold them off.

When he stole a glance to the side and noticed the girl was still standing there looking terrified he started fighting harder as he couldn't lose and let the jerks just go back to bullying her.

The girl just watched the boy fighting too stunned to do anything. A part of her really wanted to run and go find her mother but she couldn't just leave him when he'd stood up for her could she?

The boy looked like he'd gotten into some fights before and knew what he was doing but it was three on one and he was starting to lose. More tears ran down the girls face as the bullies finally over powered the boy with the whiskers and started to kick him while he was on the ground.

She couldn't keep watching the boy who stuck up for her get beaten, she started shaking weakly in not just fear but anger as well. She frowned from behind her tears and started forward prepared to launch herself into the frey when a hand grabbed her wrist.

"Lady Hinata your mother is worried sick, we must get you back to her immediately!" One of the branch members who attended to her mother when she was outside said pulling on the girls wrist but turning back around when he found she was pulling back against him.

"My lady w-"

"That boy he saved me, please Kantaki we have to help him!" Hinata said still pulling against the man as she struggled to get to Naruto.

The boys who'd been kicking him moments earlier upon seeing the man turned to look at the blonde kid then then quickly scattered intent on getting out of the area least they get in trouble.

"I think he'll be safe now my Lady we must go, your mother is worried sick about you." The man said pulling on the young Hyuga who was still in tears seeing the boy laying on the ground unmoving all scraped and cut up from being stomped and kicked for nearly an entire minute.

She didn't want to go but the man gave her no option as he continued to pull on her unwilling to keep her mother waiting any longer.

Naruto was alright but he was hurt like hell so he just laid there for a while knowing if he didn't move his body would heal faster as it always did.

 _"That hurt."_ The blonde thought looking at the sky and smiling.

He was grateful he could help the girl but he was also grateful she'd actually tried to help him as many people would've just ran or left at their first opportunity.

 _"As long as I got to help someone though, that's all that matters."_ He thought closing his eyes again.

 ** _"What an interesting little brat."_** A deep voice rumbled causing Naruto to sit up and observe his surroundings looking for the source.

 _"Guess I took too many kicks to the head I must be imagining things."_ The blonde thought laying back down and deciding to nap for a while as his aching body healed.

 **Kumo: Village council room**

"I've already said a million times I don't know why the Hokage set back the meeting date. Either way it isn't like he has a choice in the matter anyway. Let the leaf village delay the inevitable all they'd like, pretty soon Kumo will have it's own clan of Byakugan weilders." The Raikage said tired of his council constantly pestering him with this matter.

He didn't see what they loved about the Byakugan so much anyway. Indeed the Hyuga were strong but the Uchiha clan were the most fearsome set of warriors the village hidden in the leaves had produced in his opinion.

Kumo was definitely not in need of anymore sensory nin either, he honestly could see the benefit but to him the sharingan would've been a much better option. Then again the odds of someone actually infiltrating the Uchiha compond in an attempt to kidnap one of their hiers was more unlikely.

"Yes but the third Hokage is a very wise man and the more time we give him the more time he and his council have to formulate a plan fo-"

"Raikage sama!" A messenger nin said quickly barging into the council chamber and finding himself fixed with a harsh stare.

"This had better be good or you might just find yourself being flayed alive after interrupting this very important council meeting." The big man said seriously meaning every word.

"What is it!?!?" He boomed causing the man to tremble at the thunder in the man's voice.

"S-s-sir, three of our civilian villages have been raided although the attackers kill no one and took no supplies! Many of the now awakening shinobi are saying the attackers came from Iwa but a few retired shinobi in the village are reporting seeing ninja that resembled Konoha anbu!"

"Whaaat!?!? Where are these attackers???" Ay growled standing and shattering the council table with his fist.

"They appear to have pulled a hit and run on the villages sir! Attacking and knocking out the men and women on duty then leaving without a trace!" The ninja replied hoping the Raikage wasn't the shoot the messenger kind of guy.

"So Konoha and Iwa have form an alliance of some sort and attacked three of our villages without causing any harm or taking anything??? What the hell are they playing at!?!? Get me a messenger hawk and two scrolls now!!!"

"Yes sir right away sir!" The man said shuffling off to comply with his leaders orders.

The council members were all talking among themselves in slightly panicked voices wondering if they'd provoked the leaf village a bit too much and how in the hell they managed to form an alliance with Iwa who despised the village even more than they did.

"Uhm...excuse me sir?" One calm voice said to the Raikages right drawing his attention.

Ay turned around still scowling wishing he could punch something.

"What is it Darui?" The man asked his new recently appointed advisor hoping he'd have something useful to say.

"There's no way Konoha and Iwa actually formed an alliance so soon after the last war, I really find any odds of that happening for whatever reason to be highly unlikely."

"It is likely though that the Yamanaka clan had a big part in convincing all of our unconscious shinobi that they were attacked by Iwa nin. I'd say if you wanna confirm it check the shurieken and the kunai around the villages seeing as even if there were no casualties I'm sure some shinobi on the opposing side threw some just as a distraction where they were needed." The advisor said leaning back in his chair with his feet on the table as if still completely calm about the situation.

Ay rubbed his chin thoughtfully as the council began to mutter amongst themselves once again.

"It's reasons like that why I chose you for this job." Ay said smirking at his advisors cunning and the fact that Konoha's trickery had been discovered. "I'm almost certain that what you said is what really happened as this whole situation stunk from the very beginning."

The messenger nin arrived back inside the council chambers and found the entire room to be much calmer than he would have expected.

"Nevermind the paper and the messenger hawk, I'm sure this was a warning of some kind from the third Hokage as if he wanted to declare war he would've had the villages shinobi and perhaps it's civilians slaughtered which his men seemed to he fully capable of." Ay said sitting back down and looking at the shattered table thoughtfully as he crossed his arms.

"So what do you intend to do boss?" Darui asked hoping it wasn't something that would end up leading to another war.

"I'll wait to address this with the Hokage on the day of our meeting as he may be the type of man to evade certain questions but he isn't the type to just lie to me in my face. I'm sure he probably expected as much and we'll find his real reasoning on the matter in two months time."

Darui nodded along with the council who all agreed that was the correct choice on the matter, not that they would've went against the Raikages decision anyway.

 **NEE facility**

Hatsue woke up in the same corner she'd fallen asleep in with her neck in a cramp from sleeping against the wall.

She stood up and decided she might as well stop hiding as she couldn't run from her sensei or her parents forever unless she became a full fledged NEE opperative which wasn't even up for consideration.

She made sure to check for anyone who'd notice before exiting the facility through a loose storm drain.

A few moments after she'd left the facility Nubutaka's clone was in front of her staring at her questioningly with sad eyes.

"Please can you just let me be alone right now?" Hatsue asked still trying to avoid looking the clone in it's eyes. "Please?" She asked again not wanting to plead with him but not wanting to run and hide either she was too tired for that.

He sighed but nodded his head relenting to the girls wish and turning to walk away which Hatsue was grateful for.

"Remember I care about you Tsue." The man's clone said turning back around shortly before continuing on it's way.

"Thank you." She said developing a small smile which quickly faded as she wondered if he'd still say that if he knew all that she'd done.

She began making her way to Konoha's main street content to clear her mind by just wandering around for a while.

 **A few hours later 8:00pm Monogahi compond**

The kids had all gotten their fill and spared again later that day in team matches Izumi and Anko surprising everyone with their coordination with others. They now sat chatting among each other and with others inside the clans messhall awaiting the daily dinner Jaku was cooking up.

Shisui Hamura and Anko were having a three way thumb war which was the craziest thing Nubutaka had ever seen but they made it work somehow.

Neji and Itachi were discussing new justu and techniques with one another while Izumi listened and Imari and Inoha were chatting cheerily with the other clan members.

Nubutaka felt someone staring at him and looked to the front of the mess hall seeing his run away clone and smiled thinking he'd brung Hatsue.

His smile quickly faded though when the clone gave him a solem look and gestured towards the hallway with a nod of his head.

"Hey guys gotta go take care of some clan business I'll be right back." Nubutaka said standing and walking towards the entrance.

"Look at that the big bad Nubutaka running away from a little thumb war." Shisui teased from his seat still focused on the battle.

Hamura laughed at the comment. "I know right! If you're scared of playing with the big dogs bro just don't call winners next time."

Nubutaka grinned at the smack talk. "Be sure to keep those attitudes for later when I come back and kick both your butts. Slaughter them Anko!"

The purple haired kunochi smirked in response already in the process of pinning them against each other so she could take them both down.

"You got it! I'll dedicate this win to you because you recognize a true warrior when you see one." She grinned.

"Yea right!" The boys said in unison redoubling their efforts.

Nubutaka stepped into the hall and his clone ushered him inside the gardens which weren't that far from the mess hall.

He first told Nubutaka to create a shadow clone that would take his place for the night and he did sending it back into the mess hall.

The clone then recounted his tail of Hatsue to the man not wishing to bumb him out with the images of confusion and depression in the girls lifeless eyes. Not to mention the self loathing and the guilt he'd been feeling deeply the entire day along with the memory of the desperation she'd attacked him with earlier and that was plan in her voice when she asked him to leave her alone.

Nubutaka looked down sadly and put a finger to his chin thoughtfully.

"It can't really be that bad can it?" He asked looking at his clone and seeing the sadness in his own face.

If the memories were really so sad his own clone would rather not burden him with them at the moment Hatsue was really in bad shape.

"It is." The clone answered solemly sounding like he didn't wish it was so.

"Then why the hell did you leave her alone!? Don't you think she'd need us more than ever in a time like this?" Nubutaka asked growing upset grabbing and lifting his clone slightly by the shirt.

"Of course but you didn't see her...you didn't see the broken look in her eyes." The clone said shocking it's creator when tears started welling in it's eyes. "She really looked like she just wanted to die...all she asked was that I leave her alone and...and I just couldn't say no." The clone said letting it's tears fall freely.

Nubutaka let go of the clones shirt letting it fall to the floor he couldn't think straight after hearing that and seeing the pain it'd caused his clone to see her in that state.

Unlike his clone though he didn't just feel saddened at the information Nubutaka grew angry.

"I appreciate you telling me to create another shadow clone and I'm going to need you to wait to dispell a little while longer while I go confront a certain someone about this." Nubutaka said calling his sword to him using the magnet style.

The clone nodded figuring that the man didn't want to be holding on to anymore emotion than he already was now as he went to go confront Danzo.

"Don't do anything reckless." The clone said well aware that anger was an emotion that was uncharacteristic to them.

He wondered how his original would act to the uncaring and emotionless attitude of Danzo when he stood in front of the man demanding answers.

Nubutaka didn't reply to the clone however he stooped down and put his hand on his clones shadow seeking out a specific chakra through the realm of shadows.

He found what he was looking for and quickly sunk into his own shadow wondering just what he'd do if he found out the man somehow went too far in his training of the woman who he'd grown very fond of in a virtually short time period.

 **Konoha Street** _This was the original ending to chapter seven. Just think about all the words between here and chapter seven and think about how long that chapter would've been lol_ **A _chapters and a half later at least 21k words_**

"Holly cow that looks delicious!" Naruto said stopping in front of a food stale and pulling out his little frog wallet he'd placed the money he'd gotten from Tsunade earlier inside.

"Beat it kid your moneys no good here!" The stale manager yelled as soon as he took notice of the kids whisker marks.

"But-"

"I said beat it kid!!!" He yelled getting even louder causing the boy to deflate and begin to walk away from his stand holding back tears.

"What's the problem here?" A female voice said to the vendor causing Naruto to turn back around.

"Oh.. it's nothing Uchiha san, I was just telling this kid-"

"Sounds more like yelling to me." The woman said before turning to Naruto.

"What was it you wanted from this stand?" The woman asked.

Naruto pointed surprised that a total stranger was being nice to him.

"I'll have three of those." The woman said pointing to the Takoyoki.

The man inwardly sighed in defeat moving to wrap up the food knowing that defying the Uchiha was like defying the Hyuga. If you wanted to run a good business it was simply something you couldn't do.

The man placed the Takoyoki inside a plastic bag and handed them to the woman being taken off guard when she flashed a small smile of gratitude after paying him.

In his experience most Uchiha carried a superiority complex believing themselves to be better than everyone else.

"Would you like something to drink as well?" The woman asked looking at the blonde boy with whiskers figuring he was the Kyubi boy everyone despised for something beyond his control.

He nodded his head still unsure of what to make of the woman. They walked to a beverage stand where she purchased the boy a medium sized apple juice and then lead them to a nearby bench where she'd handed him the food once he sat down.

 _"You're just like me little guy, most of my clan hated me for as long as I can remember just for being born with impure blood. I hope life never leads you down a road where you'll be forced to make decisions and do things you don't really agree with."_ She thought moving her eyes from the boy to stare at the ground.

"Excuse me miss, what's your name?" The blonde asked looking up from the Takoyoki he'd been devouring with gusto.

"Hatsue Uchiha." She answered curious as to why he was asking.

"Why do you look so sad Ms Hatsue?" He asked surprising her with the question.

She looked away for a moment and contemplated telling him or not. She didn't want to really share her sadness with a kid but at the same time it could make her feel better.

She sighed before deciding no harm could come of it and he did look like he really wanted to know.

"All my life I've always dreamed of being a ninja and now that I'm finally living that dream I'm afraid that I may be losing myself in the process. I've done a lot of things no one would be proud of and no one who I care about even knows, I can't even tell them because I know they'll be ashamed of me." She said not looking him in the eyes.

"I've even been avoiding my family lately because I don't want them to share their smiles with the monster I'm becoming." Hatsue said not knowing what kind of reaction to expect from the boy.

She wondered if a child actually had the insight to react to that at all and found herself surprised when he went into the plastic bag and pulled out another Takoyomi holding it out to her.

She looked at the boy with a puzzled expression for a moment as he just grinned and pushed it closer.

She felt herself developed a small smile involuntarily and took the octopus ball bitting into it to find it tasted better than it smelled.

"Ya know a lot of people call me a monster although I'm not really sure why and a short while ago I was ready to start acting like one just because it's what people expected me to be till super spikey haired toad sensei and Baa chan showed up and showed me that regardless of what you and other people think about you the people who really matter will always care."

"I don't think you're a monster Ms. Hatsue, I think you're a good person who's just done some bad things that make you feel like a monster. Only good people get upset about losing themselves because no one ever gets upset about losing anything bad...so when you think about it that just shows your a good person who really doesn't wanna become a monster." The kid said with a smile.

"Don't let the bad people or the bad things get you down. My god dad told me that unfortunately the bad is as much a part of life as the good. We should just be happy that regardless of what happens we know who were are." He said going back inside the plastic bag to pull out the last Takoyoki.

"The people who you care about won't care about what you did if it was something you had to do because you're a good person. My god dad told me some ninja kill people everyday but at the end of the day and some people would call them monsters but they only do it for the people that they care about so those people continue to accept them."

"It only hurts because we care which means we're good people you get it?" He said grinning and offering her the last Takoyoki even though she hadn't finished the one he'd just given her.

Hatsue felt tears welling in her eyes at the boys insightful words and his caring demeanor.

Tears began to fall out of her eyes and his grin fell as he began to think he'd said something wrong.

"I'm sorry miss I didn't mean to-"

"No it's okay, I'm crying because I'm happy right now." Hatsue said smiling and wipping her tears as she shook her head no towards the Takoyoki which he looked happy to bit into once she rejected it.

"What's your name?" Hatsue asked grateful to the boy she didn't understand could be mistaken for a demon. If anything she saw the boy as an angel after this.

"It's Naruto." He said looking up from the octopus ball he seemed very fond of.

"You're very smart for your age Naruto. Thanks for cheering me up." Hatsue said smiling at the boy.

"Don't mention it! I'm gonna be the strongest ninja in the world someday and I'll help everybody who ask! I'll even become Hokage one day so everybody knows I'm not a monster and so I can help the people in the village like Jii!" The blonde boy said grinning widley.

 _"This boy wants to help an entire village full of people who've only ever shown him hate for being a sacrifice to keep them safe. This kid is really an angel."_ Hatsue thought wanting to hug him and never let go.

"You're already halfway there considering you helped me and I didn't even ask." She said smiling fondly at the boy who beamed at her comment.

"You did kinda help me first though so maybe you'd make a good Hokage." Naruto said grinning as he finished his last octopus ball.

Hatsue chuckled at his comment not knowing if he was joking or being completely serious but finding it funny all the same.

"Would you like some more of those Takoyoki Naruto?" Hatsue asked feeling happy to treat the boy to some more if he wanted some.

Naruto's eyes lit up as his mouth watered before he paused as if considering something.

"I'd love some but I don't want you to keep spending your money on me. How's about I treat you to some ramen at Ichiraku's?" Naruto said grinning and hoping she'd accept.

Hatsue's smile got brighter as in her mind she once again confirmed that the boy was an angel before reaching over and pulling him in for a hug.

Naruto who'd never received this kind of affection before was shocked at till he concluded it felt really nice and hugged her back.

"How's about I buy us some more Takoyoki and you buy the ramen?" Hatsue said fully intent on paying for both of their meals but not letting Naruto know that.

"That sounds awesome!!!" The boy said pulling out of the hug to look up at Hatsue with bright eyes.

"If you're a monster you're definitely the nicest one that I've ever meant!" He said giving Hatsue one of the brightest smiles that she'd ever seen.

"Likewise." She chuckled before standing and walking back towards the Takoyoki stand with an excited Naruto beside her.

"I almost forgot to ask Naruto."

"Hm?" The boy asked looking at her curiously.

"Why are you clothes so dirty like you've been rolling around on the ground?" She asked hoping it wasn't because he slept outside.

"Funny story about that." Naruto grinned proud to recall the story of the pretty girl with the white eyes and the three boys with weak punches in the alley.

 **Hokages Office**

"So you'd like my NEE opperatives to kidnap this man right from under Kumo's nose?" Danzo asked the Hokage making sure he'd heard him right.

"Indeed if you think they can handle it." Hiruzen said challenging his old friend.

Danzo smirked lightly seeing what the Hokage was doing there.

He actually respected the man's decision to ask him to see to this mission, if his opperatives were discovered there'd be no way to trace them back to the leaf village and no way to make them talk.

"Very well Hiruzen...I shall see to this matter." Danzo said taking the scroll pertaining the rest of the mission details from the man.

Just as the Hokage was about to speak a shadow rose from Danzo's forming behind him and taking the form of Nubutaka.

Usually Sarutobi wouldn't allow intrusion into a private meeting in his office but seeing the serious look the man had aimed at Danzo he figured it best to just let the two of them sort whatever this was out.

Danzo turned to look at the man his face remaining a calm and impassive mask of cold calculation and cynicism.

"I take it you have some kind of business with me?" He asked opening his eye curious as to the mask of anger the usually calm and collected clan head wore.

"Damn right I do." Nubutaka said scowling fiercely at the man.

 **Authors note**

 **Sorry, I should have proof read and uploaded this chapter three days ago when I finished it but a friend introduced me to Sword art online: memory defrag and I've been stuck on the game ever since. Please don't hate me.**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter.** **Fun fact #26** Before I started this fan fiction I was actually working on another called the Crows hand in helping the fox and unlike this fic I actually started writing that one with the intention to upload it here.

It was a what if scenario type of fic, Izumi convinced Itachi to spare her the night of the massacre, but before escaping the leaf village to meet up with Itachi she saw a young Naruto being brutally attacked by villagers and rescued him taking him with her.

Izumi and Itachi train Naruto to be a proper shinobi as they travel around the elemental nations keeping a low profile until he turns nine when they take him back to the leaf leaving to join the Akustuki while a smarter and well trained Naruto begins to forge his own destiny back inside the village that years ago shunned him for something beyond his control.

I stopped working on the fic when my old galaxy broke and I lost all that I'd already written on it which wasn't much just the first two and a half chapters.

Unfortunately for me the depth of emotion and character immersion in the first few chapters was on a level I haven't even been able to come anywhere close to since trying to replicate the lost story I should've just uploaded the chapters I had already instead of trying to wait till I had a whole five.

So eventually I gave up and started on my Dance of the pureblooded which I really was only doing out of boredom and never intended to upload till I realized the depth I began to intend for the story.

Maybe after I'm done this fic one day I'll try to bring that one back again that or a Skyrim fanfiction.

 **Dialogue**

 **Shy:** Sooo, what did you guys think?

 **Al Kabir:** What a shameful way to end a chapter.

 **Shy:** Huuh..what do you mean by shameful? The ending is entirely decent.

 **Al Kabir:** Yea but you just had to put in a stupid cliffhanger.

 **Shy:** Dude that's hardly even a cliffhanger, no one cares that Nubutaka's mad at Danzo lol

 **Al Kabir:** That may be true but the ending still just screams cliffhanger none the less.

 **Shy:** Well would you like to change it for me my friend.

 **Al Kabir:** I think I left the water running in the other room I'll go check.

 **Shy:** Yea I thought so Mr- Hey!!! Don't you walk away from me!

 **Kasuf:** _*siiigh*_ You both look like idiots, the chapter should have been longer and next time more Naruto please.

 **Al/Shy:** SHUT UP KASUF!!!


	10. Chapter 10

**My note for last chapter was meant for this one it's gonna be pretty short,** **just developing the story a bit more in preparation for the upcoming time skip.**

"You're damn right I do!" Nubutaka said staring at the man before him with an angry scowl.

Hiruzen folded his hands together under his chin wondering what Danzo had done that could've possibly angered the man so much.

Was it possible he was mistreating Inoha and Imari?

Danzo narrowed an eye at the man's sharp tone before turning away fully from the Hokage to face the him.

Surely the man hadn't discovered his habit of having Imari and Inoha's blood drawn for the snake had he?

"And that business would be?" He asked tone just as neutral and unmoved as always.

"I wanna know why the hell Hatsue's walking around the village like a ghost of her former self and running from my shadow clone when it gets near her. I wanna know why the hell she seems so broken inside, what could possibly make her attack one of my shadow clones in an effort to keep me away and what exactly you have to do with it."

Danzo snorted before taking notice of the sheathed katana the Monogahi held in his left hand. He usually didn't carry his sword with him not since coming to the village.

"I don't suppose you brought that blade with the intention to force the answers from me if I refused to tell you did you?" The man asked raising an eyebrow.

"No." Nubutaka said looking at the Danzo with the most anger Hiruzen had ever ever seen from the man. "I'm not a swordsman I am a follower of the way of the sword and I brought this with me just incase I decided I wanted to kill you after I hear you explaination. For Inoha and Imari's sake I pray I don't feel the need to unsheath this blade."

Hiruzen was pretty sure both he and Danzo were familiar with the beliefs of those who followed the way of the sword as a few of the villages anbu were also followers.

Those who followed the path were swordsmen who gave such respect and reverence to their blades and the art of sword fighting they only drew them with the intent to protect a loved one or to kill an adversary. They didn't train with their blades like most would, their training was something more of a religious ritual and some of them even refused to train with or wield another weapon of any kind seeing it as an insult to their sword.

There was a silence in the room as Danzo frowned at the man's words finding it ludicrous he really thought himself capable of killing a man with as much experience as he.

"And for your sake I pray you aren't foolish enough to undergo that path as well."

The tension in the room was so high Hiruzen felt as if he might be able to cut it with a butterknife.

Nubutaka's fingers gripped his blade hard his eyes showing nothing but hate for the man before him and Danzo stood staring at the man with annoyance and disdain.

"I'd like an answer to my question sometime today please." The man growled looking as if he was nearing his breaking point.

"And if I refuse?"

Nubutaka shifted on his heel regretful for what he was about to do in the presence of the Hokage but uncaring.

He moved his fingers slightly and out of the shadows three NEE opperatives appeared slicing through the ninja wire he'd been moving around the room subtly since his arrival.

Tendrils of shadow quickly spread out from the man about to crash into the NEE opperative's who'd jumped in the way when a yell of enough by the Hokage stopped Nubutaka in his tracks.

Much to his distaste Danzo hadn't seem the least bit fazed as he still stood in the exact some position calm as a cucumber as if he expected his NEE operatives to be more than capable of dealing with the threat, or maybe he'd known the Hokage would interviene before things got too heated.

Hiruzen frowned at the two before turning and addressing Nubutaka who was still scowling at Danzo.

"I expected better from you Nubutaka, although I can understand why this matter may have you upset attacking a member of the elder council let alone attacking someone in the Hokages office is one of the highest possible acts of treason."

Nubutaka heard the man but he didn't bother to reply, his hand itched to just draw his sword because then there would be no turning back. No words or principals strong enough to stop him from taking the man's head from his shoulders.

The NEE opperatives still stood in front of their leader weapons held up in defense from his shadows which were only inches away from clashing into the man's pawns.

Hiruzen noticing the man didn't intend to reply simply sighed and turned to Danzo frown still in place.

"Dismiss your body guards Danzo, surely we could've avoided this if you'd just give the man the information it is he seeks."

"Nubutaka withdraw your shadows and please attempt to calm yourself." Hiruzen said turning back towards the angriest person in the room.

Nubutaka exhaled forcing his shadows to retreat still staring at Danzo with near murderous intent.

Danzo nodded and his NEE opperatives quickly dispersed flickering back into place in one of the many shadows or hidden enclaves in the Hokages office that were there for anbu on guard detail.

Nubutaka thought them all fools, besides the metal weapons which they believed were their own shadows were his specialty and he could strangle each of them with one hand sign right now if he so choosed.

Hiruzen sighed still unfond of the strong tension in the atmosphere and the hostility radiating between the two.

"Danzo, I think you owe this man an explanation on why the sudden change in his student."

Danzo's scowl at Nubutaka turned into a frown towards the Hokage.

"I am not required to explain myself t-"

"That's an order." Sarutobi said adopting a stern tone with the man.

Danzo's frown deepened before turning back to the Monogahi and once again adopting a look of disdain.

"I have done nothing at all to your student besides giving her valuable team shinobi tactics and even stealth training worthy of an anbu, although I must admit she nearly already possessed such skill in stealth when she accepted my offer for training in the first place."

"The girls change in behavior is simply due to her being exposed to the true dark nature of the ninja world and it's apparently just catching up with her. She never did tell you the real reason I extended an offer for special training besides her being so close to Imari and Inoha did she?"

Nubutaka raised an eyebrow unaware that there was a reason other than Danzo wanting to ensure his 'assets' would be motivated to grow as Hatsue grew.

Danzo made 'hm' of affirmation.

"As I thought...the very night before the day she notified you of my offer her Imari and Inoha were tailing Anko curious as to where she would go since she had no home at the time. A group of civilian thugs cornered the her in an alley and the woman sent Imari and Inoha behind them to act as friends and see who the men were and what the wanted with the girl."

Nubutaka felt confused as to where exactly the man was going with this story, what exactly did it have to do with any of this.

"One of the men physically assaulted Anko when she told the girls to run and as he turned his attention to them feeling as if three for the price of one was much more preferable to just one he found himself struck by a rock thrown by Anko. It was then that the men began pulling out lead pipes likely figuring they'd just get ride of Anko and take the girls with them instead."

Nubutaka felt his anger begin to fade only to be replaced with dissapointment in himself for not personally walking the girls home Nee bodyguards or not. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to hear the rest of the story but he still didn't know where Danzo was going with it so he had to.

"That's when Hatsue interviened and told the girls to take Anko and leave, she would handle the men which she did. She not only forced information out of them but in her anger she killed the three of them as well."

Nubutaka was shocked. There was no way Hatsue, his Hatsue had killed three men all in one night, and she hadn't even told him about it.

"After my NEE opperatives I'm sure you were aware of reported to me on how she'd handled the situation I extended my offer and the day after she accepted, that however is not the end of her story though or the end of her kill count." The man continued.

"In my NEE program she's not only undergone special stealth and anbu signal training but she's served on hunter killer squads and earned herself four more kills while in my organization, three shinobi kills and the last one being a civilian woman who gave valuable logistics information pertaining to the land of fire to the land of lightning. I've done nothing to the girl but attempt to mold her into a competent shinobi but apparently she's proving phycological unable to deal with the work my organization undertakes."

"Knowing how much she admires you she probably avoids you out of some sort of misplaced guilt, the girl should be proud of her preformance if you asked me." Danzo said with a look of distaste.

Nubutaka was too surprised by the man's statement to react. Hatsue gad killed seven people in a short amount of time and hadn't even bothered to tell him, no wonder she was breaking down she had no one to share her pain with or tell her that she wasn't wrong.

Maybe killing the civilian thugs was going too far but killing was a part of the shinobi lifestyle and one did what they had to do for the village.

He needed to find her but she'd asked his clone just to leave her alone which it agreed fo so he would honor her wishes for the night.

He spared a looked and Danzo and the Hokage and nodded appreciatively.

"I apologise for my words and my harsh judgement of you Danzo sama, honestly I never took the time to consider anything besides you that could be responsible for her phycological change." Nubutaka said bowing in apology.

Danzo furrowed his brow at the man noticing how he'd referred to him as sama which was something ge usually on ever did for the Hokage. The man was really making a geniune attempt to apologise for his actions.

"Your words and actions are of no consideration to me. You'd have been a fool not to suspect I was behind the girls phycological breakdown but I have no need of your apology." The man said in his usual uncaring tone.

Nubutaka smiled slightly taking that to mean no hard feelings. Danzo likely didn't care one way or the other, at the end of the day everyone was the same to him no matter what they did.

"Thank you Hokage sama, I apologise for my fool hearty behavior. Anger is uncharacteristic of me and I find when I'm under it's influence I have little control over myself."

Hiruzen waved him off with a slight smile. "I'd like to speak with you soon on the academies curriculum as well." The Hokage said remembering what Tsunade told him.

Nubutaka nodded to the man before biding them both a goodnight and disappearing in a shroud of shadows.

"That one is an interesting man indeed." Hiruzen said looking at Danzo who gave a nod of agreement and began making his way to the door.

"Just a moment Danzo, about that Hatsue girl."

 **Konoha residential district**

"Thanks for walking me home Ms Hatsue!"

Hatsue smiled at the boys cheery disposition figuring everywhere he went he could always put a smile on the faces of the people who got to know him.

"Don't mention it, thanks for helping me out earlier and introducing me to Ayame and Techui their really good people."

"Don't mention it! You should stop by sometime so we can do it again, Ayame and old man Techui are always happy to see a familiar face."

"You can count on it Naruto." Hatsue said happy to have meant the Kyubi boy with the angelic spirit.

She would definitely be coming to visit him now as he seemed to really enjoy her company and she could definitely say the same.

"Awesome!" Naruto said grinning brightly before making his way towards the entrance to the large house. "Be sure to stay safe on your way home Ms Hatsue!"

Hastue smiled fondly at the boy remembering how he'd insisted on walking her home like a true gentleman since the sun was down.

She thought the boy was an orphan so where he'd gotten these manners from she would never know, it didn't really matter anyway but she was more than grateful for them.

"Please Naruto just call me Hatsue or Hatsue Nee if you'd like."

The blonde boys eyes went wide at the woman giving him permission to refer to her as a bigger sister. He'd always wanted siblings but Jusino and the gang were the closest he'd had so far.

"Really, I can call you Hatsue Nee chan?" The boy asked with disbelief plain in his voice and his facial expression.

"Of course Naruto, I'd actually feel honored if you did." She said smiling as her smile brightened in affirmation.

Naruto felt a bit of tears welling in his eyes and crashed into Hatsue hugging her as he allowed himself to cry a bit at her gesture.

Hatsue who understood why he reacted that way simply returned the hug hoping to do her best at removing some of the grief of being an outcast from Naruto's life.

 **Hyuga compond**

A branch member lay on tue floor screaming and clutching at his forehead in pain as Hiashi infused the chakra necessary to activate the seal.

"Now tell me again how exactly you let my daughter escape your sight earlier when you were tasked with helping my pregnant wife keep an eye on her earlier during your trip to the market place." A visibly fuming Hiashi demanded from his position above the man. "Also try to do yourself a favor this time and skip out on the excuses or your punishment will be longer next time." He said letting the seal deactivate so the man could speak.

The Hyuga took a moment to regain his breath from screaming before sitting up but not daring to stand as he avoiding the clan heads eyes and began to recall the story.

"Me, lady Hinata and Lady Hiaku were nearing the market place and it began to get a bit crowded...Lady Hiaku saw something at one of the vendor stalls that interested her and saw fit to purchase a few." The man said still panting as he attempted to regain all the wind he'd lost screaming.

"After purchasing the items I stepped forward and insisted I carry the bags for her as is custom for branch members to do. She insisted she carry her own bags but again I insisted on carrying them myself as that is my duty as a brach member to ease your burdens." He said using your to refer to members of the main branch.

"After the lady relented and finally gave me the bag we both noticed Lady Hinata had strayed somewhere and panicked. I quickly activated my Byakugan and began tracking her down as quickly as I could eventually finding her in an alley not too far away." The man finished sitting up and placing his head down in a bow.

Hiashi frowned and activated the seal again only keeping it active for a few seconds this time however.

"Surely that isn't all as my daughter hasn't had time yet to train as since she got back all she's done is cry about some boy she says saved her but was badly beaten in the process." Hiashi said getting more angry at the thought of someone having to save his daughter when she shouldn't have needed any rescuing in the first place anyway.

"I'm sorry my lord... when I arrived to the alley Lady Hinata appeared as if she'd been roughed up a bit and possibly even pushed to the ground. There were three young ruffians in the alley who were stomping and kicking the boy the lady reffers to as her savior." The man said bracing himself for the Hyuga's wraith which was sure to come.

"And what exactly became of this boy?" Hiashi asked raising an eyebrow.

"The ruffians ran off when they noticed my presence, and the boy laid on the ground but I could tell he was breathing. Right after verifying he was still alive I grabbed the ladies wrist and we made our way to lady Hiaku."

Hiashi's look of curiosity was replaced with a deep frown.

"So not only did you, a Hyuga lose sight of a child, but you also mean to tell me you as a Hyuga don't thank others properly for their assistance even though had you been competent you wouldn't have required it?"

"N-NO. That isn't the case lord Hiashi I j-" The man's words died in his throat only to be replaced with a pained scream that escaped his throat as Hiashi reactivated the seal on his forehead while berating the poor man for his faliure.

A figure stood in the hallway watching through the cracked slider.

"Neji you shouldn't spy if you're caught you will be punished." A figure said from behind the boy causing him to jump and turn around.

"Father." Neji said looking up into his father's eyes.

Hizashi sighed knowing his name was spoken to serve as a question rather than a statement or a greeting, his sons eyes practically begging him for answers.

"Because this is the way it is Neji this is the way it's always been, please go to your room." The man said opening the sliding door to the huge office and stepping inside.

Hiashi turned to the side sharply leveling his brother with a fierce glare when he felt him grab his hand and forcefully disrupt the justu.

"That's enough brother." Hizashi said frowning at his brothers actions.

Hiashi's glare turned into a rueful scowl at his brother overstepping his bounds.

"Hizashi..." The man said in a voice full of hot iron that demanded his brother let go of his hand.

"Hiashi..." The younger twin stated in a reasonable voice that held a bit of iron of it's own.

Hiashi considered activating the curse seal to teach his brother his place and give him a lesson on why branch members didn't over step their bounds but he recalled how grateful he'd been to him when he offered to die in his place.

He and his brother didn't always see eye to eye but in truth he was one of few people within the Hyuga clan Hiashi actually liked spending time around and considered to be family. When faced with the thought of losing his only brother not so long ago it reminded him of that fact.

He yanked his hand from his brothers hold and moved towards his desk sitting down and sighing heavily attempting to calm his nerves.

"You are free to leave Kantaki, have someone bring me and my brother some peppermint tea with a touch of honey."

"Y-yes Hizashi sama." The man said quickly making his way to his feet and shuffling towards the door.

"Also, if you happen to see Neji on your way please see to it that he makes it to his room.

The man nodded his head before bowing to the two respectfully and making his way outside the room beyond grateful to have been saved from the wraith of the clan head.

Neji who had still been ease dropping had already begun making his way towards his room as soon as his father had mentioned him knowing exactly what he'd ask Kantaki to do if he saw him.

The young Hyuga walked towards his room with his hands clenched into tight fist, a strong anger burning in his very soul. He felt tortured by the pained screams of his fellow branch member, he knew he'd never quite be able to forget them along with the man's agonized expression.

He didn't know why his father seemed to care so much for his older brother as tonight his opinion of the man and the main branch in general had changed drastically in just a short time.

Inside the office both men were silent as Hiashi rubbed his temples staring at his desk as if inspecting the neat stack of papers that sat in front of him, but Hizashi knew his thoughts were far off and he had an idea about what.

"How's your wife's been fairing these past few days?" The man asked standing across from his brother.

"She's only getting worse and worse as time goes by." The man sighed looking up and staring at his brother as if he hoped he had an answer.

Hizashi could see the pain and all of the worry in the man's eyes and he began to wish he did have the answer. His own wife had passed not long after the birth of Neji and it looked like Hiaku was destined to go the same way after their second child arrived, something Hiashi was definitely having a hard time dealing with.

"Neji has informed me he heard Tsunade and Jiriya of the Sannin returned to the village a short while ago. Perhaps having the woman take a look at Hiaku would yield better results than you've seen with the physicians she's seen so far?"

Hiashi's eyes light up and became hopefully at the statement as he had no idea Tsunade Senju the miracle healer had returned to the village. The Hyuga being a borderland isolationist clan were hardly ever caught up on all the gossip and current events of the leaf village unless they were of the utmost importance.

"Are you sure? Has the Senju woman really returned to the village?" The man asked standing to appraise his brother.

"I wouldn't know but Neji informed me he heard a rumor of both of the loyal Sannin recently returning, there's never been a rumour pertaining to their return before so one has to think there is a chance it could be true."

Hiashi stood reaching behind himself to grab a light jacket he began slipping his arms through.

"Surely you aren't about to go seeking for the woman now after the sun just set brother?" Hizashi asked surprised by the urgency Hiashi showed pertaining to this matter.

"Of course." The man said simply walking towards the door pausing when he felt his brothers arm on his shoulder.

"Brother, I think it best you wait till tomorrow and ask the Hokage for the woman's where abouts if the rumors happen to be true. You could be out all night simply chasing after a rumors that we don't know to be true or not." Hizashi said reasoning with his brother.

Hiashi thought about it before deciding he'd rather have his wife back to good health as soon as possible and turned the door noob uncaring about the amount of sleep he missed out on.

For now he would simply try to verify whether or not the rumor happened to be true or false rather than going to the Hokage tomorrow and having his hopes dashed if they turned out to simply be rumors.

He turned thr door intent on doing just that when he felt his brothers hand on his shoulder again. He turned to glare at his brother shooting him a curious look instead when his brother shot him a small smile of defeat.

"At least let me get my coat to accompany you big brother."

Hiashi smiled fondly at his little brother nodding in agreement and soon the two took to the streets of Konoha intent on finding out whether or not the rumors were just rumors.

 **Shimura compond**

Anko Imari and Inoha had just arrived home being escorted there by a clone of Nubutaka's that seemed sad for some reason.

Although the girls insisted they'd be fine the clone wasn't willing to take no for an answer and made sure they'd made it inside safely before wishing them goodnight and making his way back to his compond rather than dispelling which the girls found weird.

They hadn't even been home for a full minute when Anko turned to stare at Imari with a scrutiny that made the girl nervous.

"What's is it nee chan?" The Shimura asked nervously wondering if she'd done something to offend her sister or if she just had sone food on her face or something.

"What's the deal with the way you look at Shisui?" Anko asked cutting straight to the point.

Imari's face lit up like a tomato as she looked away fumbling over words as shr attempted to find something to say other than outright denying her sisters claim as she'd obviously been caught red handed or red faced in her case.

"I-I-I-"

"She's been crushing hard on him ever since he asked her for one of her bone swords." Inoha chimed with a knowing grin.

"Shut up Imari no I haven't!" Imari huffed as her face grew hotter.

"Yes you have." Inoha teased.

"No I haven't!"

"Yes you have, you can't hide anything from me Imari we're twins remember."

"So, that doesn't mean you're right!"

"But I am."

"NO, you aren't."

"Yes, I a-"

It's okay Imari it is pretty obvious you've got the hots for Shisui." Anko interrupted knowing they'd do this all day if she didn't.

Imari just looked at the girl then turned to Inoha red in the face looking like she wanted more than anything to deny their claim but chose to just look away instead knowing she'd already lost the battle.

Anko grinned at her sisters shy demeanor finding it cute.

"Don't worry Imari, you'll be able to tease Inoha one day when she has her first crush."

"And then we'll get to tease you too Anko Nee chan."

Anko smirked at Inoha's comment.

"No way, boys are meat heads."

 **Monogahi compond**

"How'd it go?" Nubutaka's clone asked looking at him curiously from where it sat on the roof of the compond.

"It went well enough, all things considered...your jobs finished you can go now. Thanks for helping me out.

The clone developed a small smile never having any memory of himself thanking one of his clones before. _"Guess that makes me special."_

"Cool." He answered jumping from the roof and holding his hand out.

Nubutaka looked ar him curiously and put his palm underneath his clones wondering what he had for him when the clone opened it's palm and dropped a tangle of ninja wire in his hand.

Nubutaka looked back up at the clone tilting his head slightly giving him a curious look.

The clone simply shot him a knowing smile and disappeared with a poof.

It all came rushing in an Nubutaka instantly knew what it was for, he straighten out the long wire and leapt on the roof occupying his clones former spot and sitting down and crossing his legs as he began wrapping the ninja wire around his wrist wondering whether or not he'd fail Hatsue.

As a teacher all you could do was give the right instruction and point your students in the right direction and hope it all turned out right. Yeah you were supposed to help them when you could but for the most part Hatsue was a natural she only needed help when it came to ninjustu but was he wrong for allowing her to train under Danzo knowing just what type of man he was.

He knew he'd never allow Hamura to train under the man so why'd he let Hatsue, maybe he didn't want to hold her back? He thought it would be good for her but what good ever really came out of the man who only walked in shadow.

He no longer blamed Danzo as the man had been attempting to make her a better shinobi in his own way, although his own way of attempting to make her into an unfeeling killer who would simply jump when you pointed out a target was a bit extreme to say the least.

He knew he could have kept her from ever training under Danzo if he'd of just told her he thought it was a bad idea when she'd asked. Now she was phycologically scared and Nubutaka could only blame himself.

His mind was all over the place as he sat brooding over the situation till the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and he felt someone watching him.

"Unless you're planning on killing me there's no point on hiding in the bushes, seeing as I won't be having any important conversations with myself anytime soon."

His words were only meant by silence causing him to grow a bit irritated. "Show yourself or I'll come find you!" He yelled to the presence in the woods nearing the east side of the compond which he sat by.

A figure stepped from the darkness and Nubutaka's breath caught in his throat as the last person he expected to see was now staring at him as he sat on the roof.

Same as his breath his words got caught in his throat and ge found himself unable to form the words he was looking for so he just stared wondering if his mind was playing tricks on him.

"Sorry I startled you, sensei."

"You always have been a stealthy one Hatsue but I think you've gotten better."

She paid Nubutaka's complement a small smile but chose not to comment on it, looking away instead and developing a thoughtful expression as if looking for the right words.

"I'm sorry I let you accept Danzo's training Tsue."

The Uchiha woman looked up with surprise wondering what exactly he had to be sorry for but one look into the man's eyes after that comment let her know he knew everything.

She looked away feeling a sense of guilt as she'd have rather be the one to tell him and her parents of the actions she'd undertaken as a part of her special training.

Nubutaka frowned upon seeing the guilty expression and jumped from the roof top landing a short distance away.

Hatsue took a step back as if she might run again but Nubutaka smiled upon seeing the resolve to stay in her eyes. There was a lot of shame therw but she at least looked like she'd rather face her problems than run from them now.

"Why'd you attack my shadow clone, and how'd you actually know it was a clone?"

The girl seemed to take a few seconds to process his question likely figuring out how best to answer the man.

"I..I wasn't ready to face you or anyone yet, I felt like the monster I was becoming was unworthy of being in the presence of friends or family who had no idea what I did." Hatsue finished trying her best to hold the eye contact as Nubutaka looked onto her obsidian orbs seemingly searching her soul.

"You don't still feel that way do you?" He asked after a moment.

"No I don't actually, a little blonde angel was able to change my mind about tha...honestly I feel like a fool. I always wanted to be a shinobi and to learn of the ninja wiring arts. I thought becoming a shinobi would just be learning new skills going out on missions and proving my value to the village, but I never thought it'd comprise who I am as a person or force me to do something I didn't want to do."

There was a tense moment of silence as Hatsue wondered what was on her sensei's mind as he stopped looking at her and looked off thoughtfully to the woods at her side but staring at nothing in particular.

"Proving your value?" Nubutaka questioned.

"Huh...well yea that's what I-" Hatsue's sentence was cut short as the ninja wire around her arm pulled her forward.

Before she'd known it her wrist was inside Nubutaka's hand and he was rolling back her sleeve to look over her arm with something of a small frown on his face.

Hatsue blushed at the contact and the close proximity having no idea what he was doing.

He turned her arm over and pointed to a small scare above her elbow.

"What's this scare from?" He asked surprising Hatsue who knew he was there when she received it.

"It's from when I was sparing with Hamura and the twins and Imari got through my guard." She answered hesitantly.

"And why did you receive that scare?"

"Well... Inoha was fighting against Hamura and she was about to get roasted so I moved without thinking to get her out of the way." Hatsue said looking confused.

"And then what?" He continued.

"Well...I did end up getting Inoha out of the way of a fireball justu and...I didn't actually notice the pain till you stopped the spare to tend to the wound for me." Hatsue said furrowing her brow and looking at him questioningly.

"Yes and you were fighting so hard because?"

"I...well, I think it was when you first told us you'd ask the Hokage to place me on a squad with inoha and Imari and I really wanted to catch up because they were so excited about the idea."

"So you were fighting for Inoha and Imari right?"

Hatsue frowned wondering why he kept asking questions he already knew the answers to.

"Yes."

"That's the very reason we shinobi fight, for the sake of others and for the sake of the village. Good shinobi are always seen as an asset to the village in the long run."

"I know the only reason you accepted Danzo's offer in the first place was for the sake of Anko and the twins and that alone proves you went in there with a shinobi mindset. You've never taken a life for your own sake, everything you've done has been for someone else."

"That alone makes you an asset to the village, you're a bright young and selfless kunochi in training who knows the importance of self sacrifice. A person who fights for someone else can never truly lose themselves so in a way you've only been being true to yourself this entire time, by proving to be a thoughtful and caring individual who's doing her best to better herself for the sake of others"

"Unfortunately though as ninja we're expected to do things we don't always want to do but we press onward knowing that all that we do is for the sake of others. Nothing you did was wrong Hatsue and I'm sure your family would understand just as well as I do, especially seeing as your mother was an anbu." He finished letting her sleeve fall and looking at the ninja wire on her arm thoughtfully.

Hatsue felt tears welling in her eyes and threatening to fall when she blinked.

"Thank you Nubu sama." Hatsue said grateful to the man for his kind words and understanding.

"Come oon, what'd I say about honorifics?" Nubutaka said developing a small grin glad she seemed to be slipping back into her usual self.

Hatsue smiled and surprised her sensei by reaching around his shoulders to give him a hug which he returned after a few seconds of surprise.

The two broke apart after a moment not wanting to look directly at the other as they both felt their faces giving of a little heat. For the moment they just stood there grateful for each other looking at the beautiful night sky that hung over Konoha.

"You never did tell me how you were able to tell the difference between me and my shadow clone, who you made cry by the way." Nubutaka grinned unsure of why he was teasing a clone when in fact it only meant he was teasing himself.

Hatsue looked at her sensei with a look of disbelief which only caused his grin to widden.

"No way, did I really?"

"You definitely did, Tsue. He wouldn't even dispell till a few minutes ago, said he didn't want to ruin my day which I really appreciated more once I got his memories."

"I'm so sorry sensei I just really couldn't help it at the moment, I needed to be alone." The Uchiha said sounding guilty which caused Nubutaka's grin to disappear.

"I was just teasing, it's alright as long as your back to feeling okay I couldn't care less what happened." He said looking at the girl seriously.

Hatsue smiled grateful her sensei really seemed to care for her.

She'd of never expected anyone besides her parents and the twins to be caring enough to shed a tear on her behalf.

"Oh yea, I'm able to tell whenever you're around because the wire I keep around my arm reacts whenever you're around." She said holding up her forearm to show him.

"Seriously? That's weird I had no idea." He said running his fingers along the wires feeling a low buzz as they seemingly humed in response to his energy.

"That's amazing, do they hum for my shadow clones too?" He asked still rubbing his fingers along the wires in awe.

"Mhm, they hum lower for your clones though which is why I'm able to tell the difference. They probably do it because you've manipulated them using the magnet style before so their just reacting to the familiar chakra since there's still traces of yours in the metal."

Nubutaka grinned thinking that sounded really cool for a minute before he realized something

"I guess that would explain why my arm felt a weird tingling sensation since you showed up." He said lifting his forearm to show Hatsue the ninja wire he had wrapped around his right arm.

"Sensei...is that-"

"It's your ninja wire alright, let's make a promise with each other Tsue."

"What kind of promise?" Hatsue asked staring at him curiously running her hands absentmindedly over the ninja on her sensei's wrist that sure enough was humming at her proximity.

"We'll share our thoughts with each other whenever there's something we need to talk about. I honestly didn't think it was a good idea for you to accept Danzo's offer but I didn't want to hold you back so I didn't exactly share my real thoughts with you. Lets promise to always be real with each other no matter what." He said holding out his left hands pinky finger.

"Okay Nubutaka sensei, agreed." She said smiling as she hooked her right hands pinky with his and they shook on it.

"Mind if I walk you home?"

"Not at all." Hatsue said grateful for the company.

The Uchiha compond was only a short distance away so they were at the gated before they knew it and they both turned to share a smile of fondness with one another.

"Thank you for walking me home, Nubutaka."

"Don't mention it, I was glad to do it and I hope to see you for our morning training sessions soon but if you need time it's okay."

Hatsue shook her head no and remarked that she'd be there.

They both said goodnight and spared each other another smile before Hatsue turned to head inside the compond stopping when she felt the familiar tug of ninja wire on her arm and turned around only to find her heart fluttering uncontrollably when Nubutaka captured her lips in a passionate yet tender display of affection she had no idea he felt towards her.

He broke away from the woman looking a little surprised at himself as Hatsue barely registered anything.

"I'm... sorry about that, kind of couldn't help myself." The Monogahi said with a sheepish smile. "I'll see you tomorrow Tsue, sweet dreams." He said right before disappearing in a flicker.

Hatsue stood rooted to the spot for w moment as she took a few seconds to wonder about what had just happened.

She placed to fingers to her lips and turned strolling past the gate guards who said not a word and looked right past her pretending as if they hadn't witnessed.

No doubt there would be talk among the elders about this soon and her grandfather would soon be pestering her for information but she found she didn't care she felt incredibly light right now. She'd wait to talk with her parents till the morning as no doubt they'd want to know why she hadn't been home lately but she knew they wouldn't bother her if she told them she would tell them in the morning and she walked in the house with a warm smile on her face that reflected her emotions doing just that.

Nubutaka arrived back at his compond and wondered on what he'd just did, he didn't regret doing it in anyway what so ever but he wondered why he did it.

It was pretty obvious he was attracted to the woman physically as any man would be, but why did he kiss her? He cared for her as he did for all those he had a hand in training but when he thought about it he realized his feelings were much deeper than what he'd originally assumed.

 **Like I said short chapter not many important things going on right now, yadayada. Next chapter will be the same just finishing out the events of the last few chapters, time skip coming up in one or two chapters.**

 **Hope you guys liked the chapter.**

 **Things to expect**

 _A preview of what to expect in the next chapter it isn't limited to these events, I'm just giving u guys a summary because it's going to be a short chapter._

Another sparing session at the Monogahi compond (possibly no promises)

Hatsue and Nubutaka have a conversation following up on the closing events of this chapter.

Kakashi's return to the leaf after his completion of his mission (he's going straight back out on another mission so don't get your hopes up for screen time)

Inojin and his squad return to the leaf.

Amaris leaves on a mission (off screen unimportant)

Squad twelve embarks on their first C rank mission.

Danzo's NEE opperatives embark on the mission Hiruzen gave him.

Hiashi and Hizashi confirm the truth behind the rumors.

Neji has a conversation with Nubutaka about his clan.

Anko goes back to training.

(It's very possible I'll include more as I always have a set plan for what I like to do with a chapter but then I always try to add as I go along or idea's just come to me)

 **Dialogue**

 **Kasuf:** Where are the fight scenes?

 **Shy:** It's night time this entire chapter, the fight scenes from the day were in the last chapters.

 **Kasuf:** Way to milk one day into three chapters.

 **Shy:** That's not a good thing? I thought people liked long fics.

 **Kasuf:** Yea but we like fics that don't take forever to progress too.

 **Shy:** I'm doing my best not to rush the story a*hole.

 **Kasuf:** Do better.

 **Al Kabir:** Shut up Kasuf it's fine, slow pacing is a sure sign of a lot of thought being put into a story.

 **Shy:** Well at least he gets it.

 **Kasuf:** Please, he's just kissing ass.

 **Al Kabir:** Whatever serves as motivation, why not?

 **Kasuf:** You distgust me.

 **Shy:** We love you too Kasuf, just be patient the story will pick up again soon. :3


	11. Chapter 11

**I thought it'd be a short chapter but I'm always adding more lol I'm sure if I would have waited another day or so I'd of had another 4K words to milk out of this chapter but I'd rather not keep you guys waiting if I don't have to and technically the chapter is complete so here you are hope you enjoy.**

New _instruction_

 **Knock knock**

Hiashi frowned not bothering to open his eyes as he silently prayed whoever was at the door would go away.

He and Hizashi had been out chasing rumors all night and finally they'd been able to confirm after hearing the same thing from many people that the Senju woman had truly returned to the village.

He wasn't in the mood to wake just yet, the soft caress of the bed coupled in with the warmth of his wife were doing their best to convince the man to just let sleep embrace him once again.

 **Knock Knock**

This time the Hyuga opened his eyes and frowned as his wife stired and sat up looking towards the source of the sound with a tired gaze that held a bit of curiosity.

She turned to Hiashi and offered him a small smile and a good morning kiss upon seeing he was awake. "Would you like me to get that dear?" Hiaku said already moving to push the covers away from herself.

Hiashi quickly sat up and grabbed her hands stopping her from continuing as his eyes said no and he offered her a smile of his own repaying her chaste kiss with a passionate one of his own pulling away to see his wife blushing a deep shade of red with more than a little lust in her eyes.

It was amazing how their union had been an arranged one but the two loved each other deeply as if they were fated to one another, even after being married for a number of years nothing about their relationship had changed and the two were still as in love as the day they'd married if not even more so.

Hiashi was about to kiss his wife again when another knock sounded causing him to turn and fix the door with a hard glare as his wife chuckled wrapped her arms around him and leaning onto his shoulder to speak into his ear.

"My my, if the clan continues calling for your attention like they've been doing lately I may just get jealous...I know the doctor said we shouldn't make love until my condition improves but I ache for you Hiashi, do see what that person wants and hurry back." His wife said with a sultry smile sending a chill up Hiashi's back as he jumped out of bed and quickly flung the door open a bit surprised to see his brother.

"Well well well...look who finally decided to wake up, I hope I didn't wake Hiaku."

"You did." Hiashi said looking at his little brother with an annoyed expression.

"Well be sure to tell her hi for me, but anyway. I figured if you were busy I could go see the Hokage and inquire with him as to the ladies where abouts."

Hiashi paused for a moment wondering why it seemed like his brother was asking his permission to help him.

"Why'd you wake me up instead of just doing that?" He asked knowing his brother had likely woke hours before him as he usually did.

The man grinned looking at Hiashi with his arms crossed.

"Branch member, remember?"

Hiashi frowned not liking the fact his brother seemed to think that made him comparable to something of a modern day slave.

He tossed the thought back and forth in his head for a moment coming to the realization that was sort of what the branch clan was.

"Hey, Hiashi." His brother said waving a hand and snapping him from his thoughts.

"So...what do you think, I know as clan head there are duties you have to attend to in the morning so I was thinking I could do half your work for you."

Hiashi smiled fondly at his brother grateful for his concern but shook his head no.

"Those duties can wait, I have something I'd like to discuss with you and I figure we could do it on our way to the Hokage tower. I'll need you to give me sometime though...maybe thirty to forty five minutes." Hiashi said with a glance back towards his wife who chuckled and shot him another one of her seductive smiles.

Hizashi noticed and began smiling slyly.

"Oh big brother you dog! I'll be waiting for you in the gardens, just be sure you have the energy left to walk with me when your finished." Hizashi teased.

"Who's the big brother here?" Hiashi joked causing his brother to chuckle before nodding at him and leaving.

Hiashi slide the door closed turning back towards his wife who looked at him like a cat that just caught a mouse.

"Are you sure you'll have the energy left for that walk Hiashi sama?" She teased grinning at the man as he made his way towards her.

"Oh I will, but I don't think you'll be walking anywhere anytime soon." The man said returning the grin and hoping dearly for no more interruptions.

 **Monogahi compond**

Nubutaka sat on the roof of the east wing of the compound with his sword in his lap wondering if it was time to train with the blade as it'd been three years since his sword had touched the air and his skills could likely stand to be sharpened.

He'd have to leave the village for the level of training he intended as he wouldn't want to mess up one of the training fields. He might just take a A or B rank mission as he looked at his sword and just felt it had been too long. Back in Dursula the fully trained shinobi there would undergo missions to the country of whirlpool and thin the ever growing number of refugees and rogue nin that wandered the lands.

The Monogahi made it their duty to ensure no one would ever settle inside the ruins of the once great Uzusho as a favor to the Uzumaki who they owed a lot to.

Having been in Konoha for nearly two years now his sword hadn't been needed for a while and he felt like he was disappointing the blade somehow or actually neglecting it.

He felt a familiar presence behind him on the roof and turned slightly seeing it was Neji who came and sat down beside the man staring straight ahead at the woods just as he was.

"You're here early." Nubutaka said looking at the sun's position in the sky. It had to be around seven going on eight and Neji usually didn't show until nine.

"I needed to ask you something."

Nubutaka turned to face the Hyuga who had a distant look of anger and confusion in his eyes.

"Fire away."

"You're aware of the way my clan is separate into two branches aren't you?"

"Yea.." Nubutaka said looking at the boy curiously.

"Yesterday I saw one of our branch members basically being tortured for a small faliure with the caged bird seal, my uncle looked like he just might have killed the man but I want to know why." Neji said with a calm seething anger.

Nubutaka raised an eyebrow unsure of what he was asking.

"Why your uncle was mad enough to kill a member of his own clan or why the clan is divided into two branches and your half gets treated like little more than servants?" Nubutaka asked bluntly.

"Why they think it okay to treat us as they do, this isn't the first time I've seen the caged bird seal in action it's just the worst instance of it. Your clan members all seem to love and respect each other, you even treat your servants like family. Even Inoha and Imari who are now members of the Shimura clan are still considered to be Monogahi to you guys."

"The Uchiha who have a reputation of being Konoha's coldest clan don't treat their members as cruly as some of us are treated in my clan. Why are we like this and how do I change it?"

Nubutaka looked at Neji in surprise shocked the Hyuga was actually opening up to him like this before turning back towards the gathering of tree's not far from their line of sight.

"Change isn't something any one man can easily bring, you can set in motion the necessary events for change to be considered but it'd actually be up to the entire clan to accept that change or the main branch in this case I suppose."

"For starters though I'd say just prove yourself as capable as any Hyuga or even more so and when people start to notice you then make your ideals known, just know that you aren't above persecution. I'm sure there's a lot of Hyuga in the main branch who would prefer if things stayed as they are."

"And honestly I don't know what makes any clan the way they are, the Monogahi's love of life came from having over half our clan wiped out in the warring states era for all the bloodlines we stole. The Uzumaki helped us as did a lot of civilian families and that's what made us what we are today."

"Some in my clan actually believe the caged bird seal started because of a few Hyuga defectors who married into our clan without the permission of your elders back then. The caged bird seal was developed as a fear tactic to keep those Hyuga who had less status and more reason to leave in check, which I can believe but I honestly don't think it had much to do with us."

"It was likely more so because in those days the only reason people attacked the Hyuga was in an attempt to get their hands on the Byakugan. I believe the caged bird seal was developed as a way to keep the eyes of fallen soldiers from falling into enemy hands but our history books have a lot of different theories and we weren't exactly friendly with the Hyuga so none of us could say."

Neji nodded but frowned after a moment when another thought crossed his mind.

"But what if the clan never changes, if I even try to speak against the caged bird seal it's likely it'll be used against me and taken as a branch member sowing dissidence against the main branch."

Nubutaka shrugged.

"In the end Neji no one knows the result of an action they undertake before it comes. I think it'd be best to prove yourself a valuable asset to the clan first then speak with your uncle. If in the future you turn out to be the strongest Hyuga that's ever lived they'd have to acknowledge you either way right?"

"Life can be a cruel never ending dance of crushed hopes and dreams followed by dissapointment after dissapointment, we press on because realistically we don't have any other choice. If you're going to live your life live it with no regrets don't focus on the what if's. Time is the one thing you can never get back when it's gone and regrets and are something no one wants to die with. Those who fail can at least take solice in the fact they tried."

Neji didn't know how to reply to that and it hardly made him feel any better but he was grateful for the advice and he would try his best to follow it, not for his own sake but for the sake of others branded with the same seal he bore on his forehead.

"Thank you sensei."

"Don't mention it, but hey! I just thought of something though that would blow the socks off your clan if they found out about it!" Nubutaka said looking at Neji with an excited glint in his eye.

"What?" The Hyuga asked curiously causing the man's grin to widen as he was visualizing his thought hoping Neji wouldn't refuse.

"How do you feel about swords?"

"Swords?" Neji asked tilting his head looking at the man and wondering if he was drunk perhaps.

"I'm a Hyuga."

"Exactly! All Hyuga have fought and used the same style of fighting since the early warring states era, never have they given any thought into adapting or finding something new. Your gentle fist techniques are really coming along nicely for someone so young which will no doubt earn you notice in the future, buut if you were to master something else no Hyuga has ever excelled in like kenjustu while implementing the gentle fist or your Byakugan into your style it'd definitely blow the clans mind and possibly make them considered new ways of adapting the style into more than what it is."

"One change would be a big thing for a clan that's been the same since before the establishment of the village. No doubt it'd make the elders of your clan more susceptible to other changes especially if the suggestion came from someone responsible for already changing the fridged stance the clan has on it's taijustu style."

"If you could show the clan that the gentle fist along with the Byakugan can be used for more than just taijustu you'd be the first Hyuga to bring something new to the clan in generations. You'd not only open doors for them but you'd find yourself with much more respect and influence within the clan than any branch member was ever afforded."

Neji's eyes widened at what the man was saying as he began to understand exactly what he was suggesting and the possible benefits behind it.

"That's a brilliant idea!" Neji said standing and grinning uncharacteristically as he too started to visualize what the man was saying.

"How did you ever come to think of such a thing?"

"Honestly I was just picturing you as a swordsmen and it hit me." Nubutaka smirked.

"This idea of yours just might work! Can you train me?" Neji asked looking to Nubutaka and the sword in his lap curiously.

"It'd be my honor to train the worlds first Hyuga kenjustu master, but we'll need to do it in secrecy though since I don't think your clan would be very fond of the idea. Kunai are one thing but actually kenjustu is another entirely."

Neji nodded in agreement fully understanding what he was saying.

 _"How awesome is it Hamura is also asking me to train him in kenjustu since his battle with Shisui. I think Shisui plans to train by himself or rather with Imari"_ Nubutaka smirked.

 _"Alas if only the wiring arts were held in the same light as the noble art of the sword."_

"What are you thinking about?" Neji asked noticing his sensei's thoughtful look.

"Oh nothing, I'll put in an order with our clans personal blacksmith for you but first we'll need to see what kind of sword would suit you best come on, we're going to a weapons shop." Nubutaka said creating a shadow clone and looking nearly giddy.

Neji wondered just how much the clan head had wanted him to practice kenjustu but he smiled along with him also feeling excited about the prospects.

 **Konoha residential district**

"So you're the one that brought Naruto those octopus balls he kept talking about yesterday?" Tsunade said looking at the Uchiha woman who'd knocked on the door asking was the blonde boy home.

"Indeed that was me, the little guy insisted he pay me back but I was really just grateful to the company he provided me with." Hatsue said still not quite believing she was talking to Tsunade Senju of all people right now.

"That does sound like the kid alright." Tsunade said developing a friendly smile. "Please come in, he's probably out back rough housing with the other kids, I'll go get him for you."

Hatsue nodded nervously following the sannin she'd read about inside the large house wondering if it was an orphanage of some kind.

They arrived inside a large kitchen and there was a woman with black hair standing over a stove creating a number of good looking dishes with a content smile that turned friendly when she turned and noticed Hatsue with Tsunade.

"Hi there! It's not very often I see lady Tsunade making friends, my names Shizune it's nice to meet you." The woman said extending her hand.

Hatsue smiled taking it in her own and wondering if she should leave her last name out of the introductions.

Then again she looked like and Uchiha through and through with angular facial features, jet black hair, and obsidian eyes, not to mention the clan creast was on the back of her kimmono, more than likely this woman had already pegged her as such.

"Pleasure to meet you as well Shizune san. My name is Hatsue Uchiha but you can just call me by my first name if you don't mind."

Shizune smiled nodding her head.

"I'd prefer to actually, I figured you were an Uchiha honestly. I just gotta know what's your clans secret?"

"Secret?" Hatsue asked not knowing what she meant.

"Yea, all of your women just have such smooth hair and porcelain skin can't say I'm not jealous." Shizune said making Hatsue blush slightly

"Actually if I didn't know any better Shizune Chan I'd think you were an Uchiha too, your hair and eyes are dark just like ours, your skin is almost the same tone it's just creamier."

It was Shizune's turn to blush now having never expected to be complemented by an Uchiha.

"Oh please! I've got to condition my hair twice a week, and you really think so? I always thought I could go for a tan or something."

"Oh no trust me Shizune, I'm sure there's a lot of men out there who love your skin tone. I'm actually a bit jealous!" Hatsue said earning a small chuckle from the woman.

Tsunade rolled her eyes as the women sat in the kitchen talking about their looks or trading beauty secrets like the best of friends and walked out back finding the yard completely empty save one kid who was running back and forth frowning as he looked under a rock and then behind a tree, and the strange blonde girl named Lilly she noticed hardly ever played around with the other kids she would usually sit and watch with a look of longing on her face.

Tsunade wondered if the girl had some kind of medical condition and decided to look into it later. She told the boy who was searching for the other hiding kids to go hide and walked back to Lilly smiling at the girls look of confusion and curiosity.

"Do you want to play?"

The girl nodded her head feverantly as if there was nothing she'd like more but when the girl stood up Tsunade noticed her legs wobble for a moment before straightening.

Curious she placed a palm on the girls head sending small amounts of chakra through the girls body and back into her palm, a kind of make shift echo location she'd learned in her years as a med nin.

The chakra she'd used to scan the girls insides told her she had very weak bones which caused Tsunade to feel a bit of pity for the girl as even though she was the world's greatest med nin there was nothing she could do about that.

Well maybe there was something but it'd be extremely hard on the girl but really it was either that or stay as she was which Tsunade didn't think she would chose if given another alternative.

She decided she'd spare more consideration into those thoughts later as she came out here to get Naruto but she didn't want to interrupt the kids game.

She picked Lilly up and placed her on her back telling her to point out the places she wanted to search for the kids in and after around eight minutes all the kids had been found, some of them groaning and complaining about how it wasn't fair because Lilly hadn't covered her eyes when they went to hide but to be fair to her it was a pretty big backyard.

Tsunade told Naruto someone had come to see him and walked back to the house sitting Lilly in her former spot.

"I'll help you play again later alright." Tsunade said finding her smile brightening when the girl nodded happily.

 _"This kids really adorable who would ever abandon an angel like her."_

She then remembered the girls condition and figured that had something to do with it frowning a bit as she walked Naruto into the kitchen to find Hatsue and Shizune both laughing with each other.

"Hatsue Nee chan!" Naruto said crashing into the Uchiha's side causing her to chuckle and stoop down to return the hug.

She separated from the boy and licked her finger slightly wiping a smudge of dirt off his face causing Naruto to groan and complain but there was a hidden smile on the boys face as he did so.

"Come on Hatsue Nee, that was gross!"

"Yea and having dirt on your face is gross too." She smiled playfully pinching the boys cheeks as he tryed to get away and the two laugh with each other.

Tsunade was surprised he seemed so familiar with the woman and smiled happy someone was giving Naruto the motherly type of affection she was never really good with.

"You came to visit me already?"

"Actually I was wondering if you'd want to go meet my sensei and some friends of mine who are around your age, if it's okay with Lady Tsunade of course."

"Heck yes I'd like to go! Can I go with Hatsue ba chan?"

"Of course Naruto, but don't forget to remember your manners."

"Thanks ba chan, I promise I won't! Come on Hatsue Nee Chan let's go!" Naruto said excitedly pulling on the Uchiha's hand.

Hatsue chuckled and told Tsunade she'd have him back before the sun fell to which Tsunade just nodded already trusting the woman Naruto had told her all about yesterday night.

 **Underground NEE facility**

"So nice to see you again 122, can't say that I missed you but the chance to beat you senseless till you lose that smug demeanor of yours is something I can't pass on for long." Anko said with a grin as she began stretching in preparation.

"Not so fast Anko." Came a voice she hadn't heard during her training in a while.

"Danzo sama?" The girl asked raising an eyebrow.

Danzo didn't fail to miss how she only called him father when she was around Imari and Inoha and it only served to prove the girl was only constantly adding more questions atop the pile Danzo had already composed pertaining to her history, her personality, and her intelligence.

Of course he didn't care that she didn't call or see him as a father, he even found that to be preferable to Imari and Inoha who were always vying for his attention. Which he did have to admit was sometimes a great benefit.

It pleased him that at least one of his 'daughters' knew he saw them to be tools and seemed perfectly content to fulfill that role as long as it was a benefit to her.

"You will no longer be training with 122 as of today." The man said confusing Anko who frowned looking towards the NEE opperative then back to her father.

"I don't understand...I haven't been able to land a hit on him as of yet. Are you getting me a better trainer or getting ride of me already?" The girl asked sounding upset while looking indifferent as she observed Danzo very closely.

She pulled a kunai from her pocket and used it's reflection to keep herself aware of the unmoving 122 who could and would stab her in the back at any moment if Danzo commanded.

The man inwardly smiled glad to see the instinctive mistrust of people she'd shown upon first being brought to his compond was just as strong as ever. If anyone of the girls living in his compond were truly worthy to be called his daughter no doubt it would be this one.

"Calm yourself child, you have yet to outlive your usefulness to me as you've never even begun to fulfill the roles I have in waiting for you."

"Oh..." Anko said still not letting her guard down causing Danzo to visibly develop a small smirk before he continued.

"You were right in the assumption that I will be giving you a better instructor, follow me." Danzo commanded as he began walking down a nearby corridor not bothering to check and see if she had listened.

"This new instructor wouldn't happen to be-"

"No... I couldn't tell you exactly what's going on with that one either as last I heard she was on the verge of a mental break down if she hadn't already reached one."

Anko frowned at the man's statement knowing something wasn't right in the Uchiha's eyes when she'd seen her.

"We agreed that at one point I would be training under Hatsue Uchiha though didn't we?"

Danzo stopped at the girls question to spare her a hard glare wondering who she thought she was to be questioning him in such a manner. She returned the looked and somehow appeared just as emotionally void as he was but her glare however still managed to demand answers.

Danzo's eye widened a bit as he became aware of a feeling of pride welling in his chest as she stared back unwaveringly not letting her mask fall for even a second.

He didn't know just what it was about this girl, he'd never felt pride in anything besides his own village and his own skills as a shinobi, but here was this barely trained civilian born brat inspiring something that was very rare for the man...feeling.

He figured it was because she reminded him of himself and he knew that with the right training she would easily become his model of the perfect shinobi, one he could entrust with his way of darkness as well as his ideals should he meet an untimely end.

"You will find the time to train under the Uchiha in your own time." Danzo said deciding to placate the girl so she wouldn't weigh herself down with needless thoughts during her training.

Anko nodded not really liking his answer but deciding it was better than nothing and she'd focus on whatever new form of training she'd be undergoing.

"I'd still like to spare with 122 whenever possible." Anko said meaning what she said about beating him one day.

Danzo nodded figuring the girl would request something along those lines persistent as she was.

The two reached a room with a steel door Danzo opened ushering Anko inside and following in behind her.

A man or a woman stood at an opperating table doing something inside of the opened form of a man or a woman who lay on the opperating table.

Anko approached the table letting her curiousity get the better of her nearly throwing up when she actually looked at the humans insides the man with the snake eyes who she'd seen before was calmly cutting into.

He let out a low chuckle at the girl who stood rooted frozen to the spot watching the man's hands move. He created a sealess shadow clone and switched places with it moving to wash his hands and removing the gloves and mask he'd been using as he worked.

"Anko." Danzo called bringing the stunned girl back to reality.

She quickly crossed the room and came to stand in front of Danzo and Orochimaru looking between the two curiously.

"So you'll be my new instructor?" She asked looking at Orochimaru curiously.

"Actually I'll be your new sensei and you'll find the things you learn from me to be on another level entirely compared to what anyone else could teach." The snake said grinning.

"Cool, I'm ready to absorb all that it is you have to teach me...sensei." Anko said unsure what to think as besides the foreboding and the feeling of death she got from the man she had the feeling he simply wasn't to be trusted.

"We'll start by changing that gastly taijustu style of yours, I think you'd actually benefit from something a bit more flexible."

Anko could only smile at that as since her fight with Izumi she'd only been thinking the same thing as the woodpecker style although being pretty good for attack and defense was definitely not for her.

 **Monogahi compond**

"So why exactly are you a shadow clone again?" Shisui asked wondering if he'd actually get an answer this time.

"I told you it's a secret and I can't answer that."

Hamura sighed loudly.

"Give it up Shisui he's not gonna tell us no matter how many times we ask."

"Aren't you two supposed to be undergoing a morning spare with your sensei right now?" Nubutaka's clone asked hoping to get the kids off his back.

"Yea but he wasn't at the training field, guys probably sleeping somewhere." Shisui replied waving a hand dismissively.

"How nice to see my genin think so highly of me." Came a familiar voice from behind Nubutaka's clone on the roaf.

"Crap, and here I thought we'd actually get to have some fun today." Shisui sighed.

"Save it brat, you three are going on your first C rank mission today, so I had to make sure everything was in order. Go pack for a four day trip but bring only the bare essentials we'll be protecting a merchants carvan so be sure to inform your families of our trip. Meet me at the west gate when you're finished.

Hamura and Shisui's eyes lit up as they both high fived each other and took off in a rush to get their things, Itachi calmly stood and nodded to his sensei.

"Good luck Itachi." Izumi said waving at her friend before he left.

"Thanks Izumi, good luck with your training here." Izumi nodded grateful he'd introduced her to Nubutaka and the others as there were few who could keep up with her at the academy so she hardly ever got any helpful training in.

After Itachi and his squad left Nubutaka's clone sat and talked with Izumi about her life finding her position to be much the same as Hatsue's.

Half Uchiha girl born into a clan that shunned her for something she had no control over, and apparently since her mother was and Uchiha who married outside of the clan rather than her father the judgement and scorn was even worse.

The taijustu style she used which she called the dancing cherry blossom was something she'd developed on her own since being half Uchiha there was a chance she'd never awaken the sharingan.

Apparently her grandfather had only took this as an insult and refused to train the girl any further which she didn't mind much seeing as he'd always seen her as a dissapointment before she'd ever even been given an attempt to prove herself.

It made him wonder if Hatsue had it this hard and if the two could relate to each other in that respect and how bad did others who where born half Uchiha have it.

The two sat discussing the academy for a while and what kind of skills Izumi would like to learn that the academy wouldn't offer and much to his delight one of them was ninja wiring techniques and the other was kenjustu.

The clone was fighting back a wild grin as he told Izumi he'd be honored to help her hoping she couldn't tell how giddy he was getting.

 _"Not only do Hamura and Neji want to learn Kenjustu but Izumi does too along with the wiring arts. New instruction for everybody! The real me is gonna be so excited when he hears about this, I'm tempted to dispell already."_ The clone thought wondering if Nubutaka should just become a academy instructor as he seemed to really like teaching.

"Well we've gotta make you an order for a sword too." The shadow clone said wishing he was the original so he could make a shadow clone.

He decided he'd just get her started on the basics of the wiring arts and the real Nubutaka would take it from there.

Around thirty minutes later Izumi was attempting to throw kunai with ninja wire into the right positions to set a simple trap but found the last one she threw redirected into a tree by another kunai.

"Woah Hatsue chan, that was awesome!" Came the voice of a small bubbly blonde from across the training field.

Nubutaka's clone turned it's head as did Izumi both of them looking into the crimson eyes of the Uchiha woman with surprise.

Nubutaka finding himself surprised her sharingan was complete while Izumi just stared in shock knowing this woman was a half blood like her but had not only awakened her sharingan but was also good with it.

Izumi looked at the woman with a million questions while Nubutaka's clone swallowed a lump in his throat wondering if she always looked that beautiful.

She approached the two with the blonde kid who seemed to be really interested in the kunai. She looked at Nubutaka's clone thoughtfully before turning to Izumi and giving her a shy smile she reserved for meeting new people.

"Hello Izumi, it's nice to finally see you outside of the compond, I would try to talk to you there but I refrain seeing as it'd only make the clan think less of us if we were seen together. I noticed you're training with shinobi wiring techniques so I decided to help you a bit." Hatsue said pointing to the kunai she'd redirected into a tree.

"It's best to have your support wire intersect your trap wire, it makes the entire trap much harder to escape and makes the binds tighter in the long run. I've recently started developing some different kind of wiring techniques, maybe you can help me with them sometime in exchange for my help?" Hatsue asked hoping to make friends with the girl she'd always wanted to get closer to seeing as they were both nearly in the same boat.

"I'd love to!" Izumi said as her eyes light up.

Nubutaka's clone grinned figuring the two would get along before taking notice of the blonde kid and finding himself shocked yet again.

 _"That's...that's Naruto."_ The clone thought wondering what his future student was doing with Hatsue.

The Uchiha woman was sitting by his side on the boulder he'd made so he could sit and observe Izumi as she learned before he'd even noticed she moved.

He looked down and noticed Izumi smiling at a really excited looking Naruto showing him the proper way to hold and throw a kunai.

"Good morning to you too clone sama." Hatsue said smiling at the clone who returned it with a grin.

"I apologise for the original's absence but if it's of any consolation to you I'd be happy to help make him jealous." The clone said leaning in slightly and wriggiling it's eyebrows.

Hatsue blushed lightly and laughed at the clones comment before looking at it curiously.

"Where is the original anyway?"

"He went to go help Neji with something but he should've been back by now honestly." The clone said wondering just where he'd gotten to.

"Well as long as you're here I guess it means he's okay, do you mind if I help surpervise Izumi's wiring training?"

"Not at all if you don't mind me helping Naruto practice proper kunai form while he's here. How is it you came to be aquatinted with my future student anyway?" The clone asked looking at Hatsue curiously.

"Huh?" Hatsue said looking to the blonde who was doing something with the kunai that was making Izumi laugh.

"Future student?"

 **Hokages office**

"You summoned me Hokage sama?" Nubutaka asked entering the office with Neji and bowing respectfully.

"Indeed I did, I take it you trust this Hyuga correct?" Hiruzen questioned sparing Neji a curious glance.

"One hundred percent Hokage sama." The man said surprising Neji who thought the number one rule of shinobi conduct was trust no one.

"Good." Hiruzen said beckoning his anbu close the doors and place a privacy seal at the entrance.

"Now about the matter pertaining to Hatsue Uchiha last night, while I don't exactly agree with Danzo's plan to give the girl the experience necessary to serve as a regular shinobi team leader I do agree she'd no doubt be the best option for those girls and me and Danzo came to an agreement on the matter."

"She will be transferred from Danzo's NEE program to serve in the regular anbu black ops, undergoing our training program and being assigned a small patrol squad near our western border. She will be rotated in and out of other squads and once the twins have completed their three years at the academy she will be given the standard jounin test and if she passes she will be given command of the squad Inoha and Imari are placed on."

"Danzo will secure the vote of the elder council as well as half the civilian councils vote and me and you agreeing on the matter will be sure to sway the rest. However he did name one condition for his compliance in the matter."

Nubutaka sighed knowing it sounded too good to be true as all the possibilities of what Danzo could possibly want ran through his head.

"What does he want, all rights to and total ownership of my first born child?" Nubutaka asked mostly just joking but not entirely putting it past the man.

Hiruzen chuckled for a moment before continuing

"I'm sure if Danzo were here he'd say that's not a bad train of thought but instead he only asked that his other daughter Anko Mitarashi be placed on the same team as Hatsue Imari and Inoha."

Nubutaka raised an eyebrow.

"I thought he wanted Anko to be a NEE opperative in the future?"

Hiruzen shook his head knowing Danzo better than that.

"The only good NEE opperative is one incapable of thinking for themselves which I'm sure young Anko is still perfectly capable of, he has plans for that girl although I don't know what. In exchange for his help in ensuring Hatsue is made squad leader he ask you make a sort of program or test of some sort capable of ensuring Anko is competent enough to serve on a genin squad, one that would also convince the rest of the council to overlook her having never attended the academy before."

Nubutaka smirked understanding exactly what this was.

"I'm sorry Hokage sama but I never expected you to be one for dirty politics before."

He knew Danzo was one to cut corners, play others to his advantage and ignore protocol with no regrets, but the Hokage? Offering to help them pull one over on the councils no less.

Hiruzen smirked in return looking down and chuckling a bit before meeting the man's eye again.

"Consider it a favor for you agree to train so many of our young shinobi as well as your hand in improving the academy. I take it you'll accept correct?" Sarutobi questioned knowing the man would.

"You bet I do, that's three years to develop a one month program while you and Danzo are expected to do the hard work, I don't see why I'd refuse."

Hiruzen smiled glad he agreed as then the man would have a hand in the training of another young squad of Konoha shinobi.

"Good, now while your here I'd like to make you aware of a request Tsunade made about adding medical ninjustu to the academies curriculum."

Nubutaka looked thoughtful before his eyes light up and he smiled at the Hokage.

"That's a great idea! I don't know how I missed it."

"Excellent, I'm sure Tsunade will be glad to hear it, thank you for getting here so quickly to answer my summons and please inform Hatsue she is to come and meet me whenever she's next available."

"Hai, Hokage sama, thank you for all of your help in this matter." Nubutaka said walking towards the office window and pulling it open.

"It's nothing of a bother, consider it something I was glad to do." Hiruzen said waving the man off and going back to his paperwork.

Nubutaka grinned and leapt out of the office window.

Neji looked between the window and the Hokage wondering if he should take that route or use the stairs. Hiruzen looked up from his paperwork smiling at the boys indecision.

"You're going to follow him before he gets too far aren't you?" The hokage asked smirking towards the Hyuga.

"R-right! Hokage sama!" Neji said quickly moving to and leaping from the window as his mind replayed the events of what just happened in the office.

The Hokage and an elder council member had both agreed on undermining standard leaf protocol to pull a few strings that'd better suit their needs along with his sensei's desire.

Not only that but the Hokage just took Nubutaka for his word and decided to trust Neji because Nubutaka extended him his trust, something that still baffled the Hyuga he'd unknowingly received.

Maybe being a notable shinobi had more benefits than Neji had originally been open enough to acknowledge. If Nubutaka could have favors pulled for him and his students without asking then where did that leave him, a student of the man. No doubt the eyes of the village higher ups were already on him if they held the man responsible for his training in such esteem. He decided he would do his best not to just become the strongest Hyuga the village had ever seen, but possibly the strongest shinobi the village had ever seen.

He grinned brightly as he hit the ground and took off in a sprint seeing Nubutaka waiting for him a few roofs over.

He may not be the Hyuga clan head bit he was sure with his sensei's help he'd become a notable shinobi the likes of which Konoha had never seen. One more than capable of changing the Hyuga either from the inside as one of them or the outside as a shinobi who could get things done in secrecy.

 **Monogahi training field**

"Hatsue Nee chan!" Two voices rang out and the Uchiha woman quickly found herself being tackled to the ground as two bundles of white hair and tears latched onto her attempting to formulate words Hatsue couldn't understand thanks to them burying their faces in her kimmono.

Hatsue smiled grateful that the twins never changed and all the more grateful for Naruto as she'd still be avoiding the girls if he hadn't talked her out of her self loathing and the soul eating guilt she felt.

After a few moments the girls allowed Hatsue to sit up but they still clung to her as if she might disappear the moment they let go

"Where have you been???" Imari said sounding and looking upset.

Hatsue honestly didn't have a way to reply for a moment as she couldn't tell them she'd been slowly falling into a depression the past two weeks over the people she'd killed.

"Well-"

"Hi I'm Naruto! Nice to meet you guys, Hatsue chan is my big sister too!" The boy said causing Hatsue to breath a sigh of relief at the blondes interruption.

"No way Hatsue chan doesn't have a brother?" Inoha said looking at the blonde with disbelief.

"Yes way, she's been taking care of me for a while while my god dad went away on some kind of a mission, right Hatsue Nee chan?" Naruto asked shooting her a wink when the girls looked at her for confirmation.

"R-right!" Hatsue said not wanting to lie to the girls but finding herself grateful for the blondes help none the less.

She looked to Naruto sending him a grateful smile as the girls started asking him questions.

Hatsue joined in on their conversation having already heard from the clone they'd been looking for the boy alongside Nubutaka for the past few days but had no luck him finding him. She stopped talking stopped upon feeling the wires around her arm start humming louder.

A few moments later Nubutaka and Neji appeared on the rooftop, the Monogahi smiling brightly as if his day was going great and couldn't get any better and Neji had the biggest smirk anyone had every seen worn by the Hyuga as if he'd just discovered the meaning of life or something nearly as important.

"I take it you guys were more than successful?" Nubutaka's clone asked raising an eyebrow at their expressions.

"You definitely hit the hammer on the nail with that one." Nubutaka replied jumping from the roof to smile brightly at Hatsue.

"Is that Naruto?" He said upon noticing a little blonde boy bearing the features of the fourth Hokage.

Nubutaka's clone dispelled causing Nubutaka to recall it's conversation with Hatsue about how Naruto had helped her to realize she was being too hard on herself based on the interaction she could see between the two in his memories they adored each other and the twins were a little jealous although they seemed to like Naruto too.

Nubutaka smiled at the boy wanting to thank him but not knowing how since his clone had already seen to it while helping him with his kunai technique.

His thoughts trailed instead to his newest student Izumi Uchiha until a certain blonde interrupted them.

"There were just two of you!" Naruto said pointing towards the spot where his clone had just been.

Nubutaka tilted his head surprised Naruto had never seen a shadow clone before.

"That's a justu created by the second Hokage that let's a person create physical copies of themself, you've never seen it before?"

"No but it sounds awesome! Can you teach me?" The blonde asked looking excited.

Nubutaka placed a hand under his chin thinking he might have found the perfect way to repay the boy if all justu got him as excited as that one, but he couldn't teach someone his age a justu so dangerous to the user he'd have to work on his chakra control first.

 _"Well I guess we'll be starting you're training early Naruto."_ Nubutaka thought grinning at the boy as he wondered what type of ninja he'd turn out to be.

 **Konoha main Street**

Hizashi was stunned at what his brother was insinuating. Hiashi always had been a dreamer but to even recommend such a thing had to be unheard of among Hyuga clan heads.

He just stared at his brother as the two continued on their way to the Hokages office wondering if he realized the gravity of what he said.

"Why brother?" Hizashi asked unable to help his curiousity.

"Recently after our incident with Kumo I've been thinking...when we were younger we were the closest of siblings, we did everything together. As we grew older though and more involved with the matters pertaining to the clan we grew apart. You started to feel like more of a rival or someone who was below me and I'm sure you felt the same only in a different way."

"I don't wish for that to happen again and I'd rather not see it happen in the future. Hinata will one day become air to the main branch unless her younger sibling proves to be more competent, I'd rather the two not go down the same path we underwent."

"When I'm with Hiaku lately all I can think about is what if she belonged to the branch clan, it's inevitable that eventually one of my children will be branded with the caged bird seal and named head of branch clan affairs when you reach a certain age."

"I already see a thinly vieled hate in Neji's eyes when he looks upon those fortunate enough to be born into the main branch. I don't want my nephew to hate me Hizashi, I wish for the Hyuga to be a family." Hiashi said surprising his brother.

"It's no secret our clan is often regarded as the coldest clan in Konoha and no doubt it's due to our treatment of our own. A clan divided among itself can never truly prosper, the branch clan members are so busy making sure they continue to please the main branch it's all they really focus on nevermind their own hopes and dreams."

"The main branch is so focused on ensuring the branch clan stays in line it's all we ever focus on besides advancing the Hyuga's financial position and it's prestige within Konoha. The gentle fist has remained entirely the same as it's been since it's creation, as has clan policy but over the years our relations with one another have only dwindled. Most parents within the main branch don't even bother forming true bonds or relationships with the child they see as less worthy as eventually that child will become a member of the branch clan."

"I don't want to live out my entire life as clan head knowing I've done nothing about the clans most prominent issue. I'd rather my children not have to deal with or feel their relationship strained because of our traditions. I basically tortured a man last night in my anger brother. A man who by all right I should see as family, all because my status as a member of the main branch allowed me to, because that's what we're taught to do when branch clan members fail...to punish them. Our traditions are wrong brother, and I think they could stand for a little bit of change." Hiashi finished still looking straight ahead towards the Hokage tower.

Hizashi didn't know how to respond, his brother was speaking out against the practice of separating the clan into two branches. He was basically saying he wished for all within the clan to be equal and to abolish the practice of the caged bird seal. Surely such a thing was not possible, the elders wouldn't stand for such a thing.

"As much as I can agree with what you're saying brother, the elders would surely turn against you if they knew you had such thoughts."

Hiashi nodded sparing another glance at the civilians around them ensuring no one happened to be listening in.

I am aware of that brother but I think I know of two elders who may feel the same as I do, while two isn't much concerning a council of twelve it's a start. If I can convince four more people to vote to abolish the clan tradition of dividing the clan my vote could be the tie breaker, there would be no more reason for the caged bird seal and we could begin preparing relations throughout the clan." Hiashi said sounding hopeful.

"How exactly would you go about doing that?" Hizashi questioned not against what his brother was saying.

He just felt he might be treading dangerous waters seeing as some of the elders were very fond of the way things were.

"That Hizashi, is something I've been wondering since the birth of Hinata, I have no idea but I know it needs to be done."

Hizashi nodded agreeing whole heartily with what his brother was saying.

"I'm glad to hear you say that brother, I will do my best to help your dream become a reality. The path may not be clear now but I'm sure if we're patient eventually something helpful will reveal itself to us." Hizashi said smiling at the thought of a future without a large division in the clan, a future without the prospect of head splitting pain at the smallest of mistakes or transgression, a future of equality among brothers and sisters.

Hiashi nodded feeling the exact same thing.

 **Konoha's West gate**

Shikono stood behind the carvan smoking a cigarette as he waited for his students.

He swore if they took much longer he'd be leaving to complete the mission on his own and making them pay for having to do the extra work when he got back.

Suddenly the air behind shifted and he turned to see a grinning Shisui staring at him like he'd just hit the lucky lottery ticket or something.

"You know you're gonna give somebody a heart attack like that one day kid, your flickers getting way too fast."

Shisui's grin only widened at the complement glad to hear his favorite justu just kept getting better and better.

"Is that jealousy I hear sensei?" The Uchiha teased raising a brow.

Shikono scoffed.

"You wish kid it's ten years too early for your fancy flicker to bother me any."

"Yea just you wait till ten years passes though! I'll be so good with the flicker it'll be like I'm teleporting. They'll call me...the Uchiha flash!"

Shikono's hand shot to his mouth as he started trying to hold in his laughter but failed as he began holding his ribs trying to stop himself from laughing anymore at his students silly name for himself.

Shisui frowned at the man who apparently doubted what he was saying.

"Just keep laughing it up old man, I'll show you one day!"

"I hope when you do your taste in nick names has at least improved a bit." Shikono said still chuckling as he held his ribs.

Just then Hamura and Shisui dropped into the clearing just outside the West gate looking at their sensei curiously.

"What's he laughing at?" Hamura said pointing at Shikono.

"Bastard thinks my nicknames are stupid." Shisui said sounding idignat.

"Oh..what's kind of nickname?" Hamura asked wondering how bad it had to be considering their sensei was actually laughing.

"Well I've been getting really good with the flicker lately and it's still my favorite justu so I figured I could make a name for it like the fourth Hokage did with his Flying Rajin. Get this, how do you like the name...the Uchiha flash?"

For a moment all was silent as Shikono had stopped chuckling just to hear him repeat the name and double over in laughter again. Itachi looked uncaring about the name while Hamura seemed to be trying to hold back a smirk.

Shisui frowned looking at his teammates. "Hey, you gu-"

"Bwahahaha!" Hamura burst into laughter along with their sensei as Shisui looked back and forth between the two looking absolutely indignant.

"Itachi, tell me the name isn't that bad!" Shisui said looking desperately at his fellow Uchiha.

Itachi let loose a small chuckle of his own and Shisui deflated knowing all hope was lost if even Itachi found it funny.

"Guess that names out the window." Shisui said hanging his shoulders.

"At least you can say you have terrible taste in names just like the fourth, come on though Mr Uchiha flash." Shikono said patting Shisui's shoulder with a grin. "We've got a carvan to escort."

"Hamura I want you in the front keep your eyes peeled for any enemies, send a clone out to scout ahead if you feel the need to. Shisui, Itachi, I want you two at the sides sharingan active if you think you see some suspicious movement in the tree's. I'll bring up the rear since bandits are more liable to start an ambush from that end, our destination is Suna so you can bet your ass it's gonna get pretty hot on our trip. You're shinobi so I don't wanna hear any crying or complaining about it on the way am I understood?"

"Yes sir!" The genin chimed in unison each of them more than ready to prove themselves.

"Alright, traveling at a civilians pace it'll take us two days to reach the village, two days to get back or three depending on how many stops we make. Remember what I taught you all about team work and we should be okay. Hamura, inform the carvan leaders we're ready to go, in positions everybody."

"Right the genin nodded all moving to obey their jounin sensei, pretty soon they were on the road with the village in the distance. Must have been something about the clouds but Shikono couldn't help but think that for some reason this mission would be more work than he'd originally assumed."

 **Konoha's West gate**

Just as a young silver haired kunochi was leaving the village a slightly older silver haired anbu was making his way inside.

Amaris was aware of the anbu leaping through the trees above her but paid them no mind as this was nothing unusual for a shinobi village. Anbu never entered the village through the gates they either went over the wall or through hidden passage ways.

Her mission was a simple B ranked one, she was to go find a merchant in the land of waves who was running from some crime lord named Gato and bring him back to the leaf, she was in no hurry so walking along the road was just as well to her as leaping through the trees.

She looked up in surprise as anbu kept pooring into the village wondering just how much of the special ops force had been deployed on whatever mission they were coming from as at least twenty of them had just passed over her head.

She wondered if something big had just went down, did someone declare war on the leaf or was the leaf declaring war on someone else? Anbu rarely traveled in squads of over five members so twenty was extreme to say the least.

Kakashi was standing in a nearby tree looking at the woman's curious expression wishing he could spare a moment to talk to her but no doubt the Hokage was expecting him.

Then there was also the fact he was in his anbu uniform and anbu weren't exactly known for casually conversing with people, he'd only ever done that with Naruto and that was because between missions he hardly had anytime to do so otherwise.

Amaris suddenly looked up towards the tree he was in and Kakashi found himself thankful for the abundance of leaves.

She pulled a kunai from her pouch and hurled it in his direction. Kakashi swore under his breath and leapt towards the next tree finding she'd expected as much as she crashed into him in the air sending them both crashing towards the ground.

Kakashi's head hit the ground pretty hard causing his vision to blur, before it could clear he felt pressure on his arms and a kunai to his throat.

He could see her clearly now wearing her usual shinobi attire, her knee's were pressing down against his arms leaving him trapped and only capable of moving his legs. She had a frown of confusion and Kakashi could only lay there and admire the kunochi as he wondered how he would explain himself.

"Why were you watching m- Kakashi!" She said sounding surprised and quickly standing and freeing his arms.

Kakashi took the hand she offered and used it to pull himself to his feet rubbing his head as he did so.

"When you hit you hit hard, you know that?"

Amaris smiled at the man's complement and gingerly rubbed her fingers along his scalp apologizing and sighing in relief when she felt no tender area's.

"You did kind of sneak up on me you know. What were you doing in the tree anyway? Don't tell me you've gone all Jiriya on me or something." Amaris smirked causing Kakashi to chuckle a bit.

"I'm not that far gone yet but I'll be sure to let you know if it ever comes to that." He joked hoping it really wouldn't come to that.

"Oh..my Mask kun is on the path to becoming a closet perv. Well as long as you're perving on me I guess I wouldn't mind too much." Amaris said grinning suggestively.

"Oh really..." Kakashi said as he began to laugh a little at her comment. "Pray you don't come to regret those words later...we anbu are known to have quite the stamina if you catch my meaning." The anbu captain said smirking behind his Mask as the playful kunochi's face light up.

He raised an eyebrow she couldn't see curious when she remained silent.

"Losing your edge are we Amaris?" He teased noticing she had no come back.

"S-Shut up!" She stammered still red in the face causing Kakashi to snicker a bit more.

"Sorry I startled you though, I saw you on my way back into the village and didn't know if I should speak to you or go give my mission report."

Amaris just remembered her own mission and registered the fact he was in his anbu uniform causing something else to cross her mind.

"What was up with that big squad of anbu, are we going to war or something?"

Kakashi put a hand to his chin figuring this wasn't the best place to tell her but he did want to chat with the kunochi. They both still had work to do however and that came first.

"No we aren't going to war as far as I know but how's about I tell you over dinner or a sparing session next time we both get some free time?" Kakashi asked knowing it wasn't likely to happen anytime soon.

Amaris's eyes light up as she agreed and told him she would hold him to it. The two bid each other good bye and began heading their separate ways till Amaris remembered Kakashi's sharingan and turned around finding he was already gone.

She smiled respecting the way the man was no nonesense when it came to his duties to the village. She would simply have to tell him some other time she thought leaping into the tree's and making her way towards the edge of fire country.

 **Hokages office**

Kakashi stepped into the Hokages office through the window noticing two Hyuga men, one he thought be be Hiashi Hyuga taking their leave.

"Inu." Hiruzen greeted.

"Lord third." Kakashi said bowing.

"I take it your mission was a success?"

"Surprisingly enough everything went off without a hitch, not a single death to account for on either side although a few Kumo shinobi may have some broken bones and slash wounds to account for."

Hiruzen only smiled at Kakashi's statement seeming completely untroubled by what he said.

"No doubt the Raikage and his council know we're behind the attacks by now. Excellent work as always, in your absence more missions requiring your attention have piled up." Hiruzen said gesturing towards a pile of scrolls on his desk labeled anbu.

Kakashi sighed, before the day was over he'd need to assign at least half these missions. Likely leaving the hardest one's for himself and the anbu's senior members.

"I'll have them delivered to your office shortly, I wouldn't mind if you choose to gain a few hours rest as you're mission kept you up and about for two days inside enemy territory."

"Rest isn't something anbu captains have the luxury of, that's what soldier pills are for but I appreciate the offer." Kakashi said signaling one of the anbu on the Hokages guard detail.

"Deliver these scrolls to my office for me."

The anbu nodded not bothering to question his captain grabbing a handful of scrolls and flickering away.

"How's the state of the village?" Kakashi asked wondering if anything special had happened in his two day absence.

"Same as when you left it I suppose, Hiashi and his brother were just here inquiring about the where abouts of Tsunade, Jiriya just left on a diplomatic mission to Taki and we were in the process of considering something of a trade deal with Ame till all contact with Hanzo mysteriously ceased.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow finding that last bit to be pretty interesting.

"Do you think something of an insurection has taken place?"

Hiruzen only shrugged looking thoughtfully out the window.

"While it's no secret Hanzo runs his country with an iron fist I doubt anyone would want to remove him from power as he's done a great job of keeping the usual small skirmishes between other villages even in piece times from taking place within his borders for a while now. Although there is more to be desired in his other aspects of leadership I find the thought of Hanzo being defeated by anyone besides a Kage to be pretty far off, while it's not impossible I still find it highly unlikely which begs the question...exactly what is going on in Ame."

"Would you like me to investigate?"

Hiruzen seemed to think it over for a moment.

"Honestly I intended to send Jiriya to see if he could reestablish contact with Hanzo since the two have a past together but if Ame has a new leader who's indeed stronger than the Salamander that information would be very important to the leaf as one can never know a persons intentions when having no information at all pertaining to the individual."

"I'll write this up a classified A rank mission, possibly S rank. You aren't to establish contact with the new leader of the rain village if it does indeed have one, you're simply to gain information pertaining to Hanzo. I'd rather not risk a valuable shinobi such as yourself and your name is listed in two of the greater villages bingo books so I want you to travel in disguise. If you learn the rain village is indeed under new leadership you are to return here immediatly, but your main priority is finding out what exactly became of Hanzo."

Kakashi's nodded and began making his way towards the office door.

"I'll be assigning my anbu to the missions that have piled up first and a temporary replacement to serve as captain in my absence, seeing as I already been briefed there's no need to come back and get the mission scroll correct?"

Hiruzen nodded. "Be careful out there Kakashi, lot's of rogue ninja in Ame would love to claim a bounty like yours with either Iwa or Kumo. Not to mention all of the unknown factors, if a powerful ninja like Hanzo just disappeared we have no idea what could await you once you cross those borders."

Kakashi nodded fully intent on completing his mission as he always did.

 **Konoha's East gate**

Inojin and his squad finally made it back inside the village having traveled none stop at the insistence of the no nonesense Yamanaka.

Not that they really minded much, Gai wanted to hurry and get home so he could wash his hands and clear his mind of what he'd witnessed in the field. While not a stranger to anbu torture and interrogation methods being on a squad tasked with gathering information through such means was making him feel like something less than what he was.

He didn't look down on those who gathered information through such means but he simply wasn't that type of person.

As they passed over the West gate Yukushia saw her compond in the distance and simply wanted to go home and rest but she had to first report to the Hokage with her squad. She was thankful for the fact she was always looking for new uses for her plants ability to create a number of rare substances, the truth serum she'd injected into the soldier before torturing him to loosen his lips had proved somewhat effective but still needed more work.

She'd modify the plant she had producing it and give a fresh batch to the leaf villages torture and interrogation department. She shuddered upon noticing torture was the first word in that departments name.

Inojin was apparently freshly decommissioned from the department as his clan head thought it seemed to be having an adverse effect on his demeanor which she could believe after traveling with the cold Yamanaka for a few days.

She wondered just how much blood was on the man's hands, she'd only tortured a man for a number of minutes with the use of a truth serum, apparently Inojin had been in that department for years with no such help to loosen one's lips besides the pain he could inflict.

She looked at Gai unsurprised to see the man still wore a scowl and figured he wasn't fond of these types of missions either.

Enu the ever stotic and seemingly unfeeling Aburame's face was as impassive as ever, his thoughts on the mission were in no way known to the trio.

 **Konoha residential district**

Tsunade frowned hearing another knock on the door distracting her from her sake and her magazine.

"This better not be neighbors coming to welcome us to the neighborhood." The sannin thought standing and walking towards the front of the house.

Upon opening the door much to her surprise she saw two Hyuga men looking at her with a sliver of surprise and relief.

"You guys wouldn't happen to be our neighbors would you?" She asked raising an eyebrow.

Much to her and the other Hyuga's shock the other male quickly dropped to his knees laying his head atop his palms which he lay on the ground.

"Lady Tsunade I beseech you, my wife's has recently fallen under the affliction of some rare condition that weakens the physical state of Hyuga women during pregnancy...I will give anything you ask if you agree to extend your help to my beloved Hiaku." The man said head still down in a bow.

Tsunade found herself even more surprised when the other Hyuga quickly followed the man's lead.

She wanted to frown at the two men grovelling at her feet in the doorway but obviously this was very important to them and she did swear an oath as a med nin to never turn down those in need of medical assistance, it was technically her job to save a life whenever she could even if she did consider herself to be retired.

"Where is she?" The blonde asked not wanting to waste time.

 **Monogahi training field**

Nubutaka sat on the usual bolder watching a clone of his walk Naruto through the basics of tree walking which he seemed to be having a hard time with.

Izumi was currently sparing with both Inoha and Imari proving to be more than a match for Imari in taijustu but seeing as that was Inoha's strong point he'd told her to work on her weapon skills with a kunai which Izumi also drawfed her skill in.

He found the Uchiha girl to be very impressive compared to the average academy student, her personal taijustu style just needed a little work but he didn't doubt with a bit more training she'd be able to go against Inoha when using her crystal enhancements and possibly even Neji. He weapons skills with a kunai were pretty good also which left him to wonder how she faired in ninjustu.

Taijustu and Ninjustu were Inoha's strengths while she wasn't so good at wielding weapons, Imari was the opposite excelling at Kenjustu while her ninjustu and taijustu could stand for a bit of work, so far she'd only shown a talent for yin style.

He had Izumi sparing with them both at the same time as a way to improve her taijustu style while also having the girls focus on their weaknesses.

To the casual observer it would seem the twins were pressuring the girl but to Nubutaka she seemed to only be using them as a tool to sharpen her reflexes.

Imari took two consecutive swings with her kunai showing a decent form but Izumi effortlessly dodged them either way not even bothering to block, Imari attempted to predict the path her head would go when she dodged and leapt into the air for a spinning round house which the girl easily ducked under.

Inoha was back her face wielding her kunai in a wild fashion that reminded Nubutaka of how one would wield twin daggers slashing at the girl with fast inaccurate strikes that were meant more to just draw blood than incapacitate or truly wound.

Imari was behind her attempting to capitalize on her sisters distraction but the Uchiha girl had good instincts and was able to seemingly dodge both Imari and Inoha's attacks in the same motion.

Izumi actually only blocked or parried blows when she needed to and sometimes pointed out the occasional opening by sweeping their legs out from under their feet. Nubutaka could tell they'd both benefit greatly from a sparing partner like her as she was taking the time to not only improve herself but to improve them as well by pointing out what they could be doing better.

For a moment the twins launched a never ending flurry of attacks causing Izumi to double time to keep up.

Duck, sidestep, jump back, dodge, weave, roll, dodge, duck, sidestep, Nubutaka was surprised she could stay on the defensive for so long without having to block a single attack.

Izumi suddenly seemed to lose her footing in a manuver that was all too familiar to Nubutaka.

 _"Don't fall for it!"_ Nubutaka screamed in his head.

The twins incapable of hearing his thoughts both noticed and moved to capitalize on her slip up at the same time but just as Nubutaka thought it was a bluff and Imuzi quickly ducked grabbing Inoha's arm and using her momentum to throw her into her sister.

Nubutaka smirked impressed the girl had easily replicated the move he'd used to end his battle with Shisui Hamura and Itachi during his first spare with the Uchiha prodigies. No doubt Itachi had a hand in helping the girl get this good and if she'd come up with that move on her own all the more impressive.

Inoha stood up and looked at Imari who stood and nodded to her twin. The two reentered their stances and charged a smiling Izumi.

Inoha leapt into the air and spun taking a swipe at Izumi which she dodged, Imari came behind her sister attempting to sweep the girls legs out from under her but Izumi quickly rocked on the heels of her feet going over the sweep and landing in a hand stand.

She begun spinning in a circular motion kicking at Imari rapidly and breaking the girls guard before landing a hard kick to the side of her face.

Inoha quickly rushed towards her with her daggers but Izumi saw her coming and pushed off the ground with her hands landing on Inoha's shoulders and using her momentum to flip with the kunochi's head in between her legs throwing her a few feet away and landing on her hands flipping to land back on her feet.

 _"What the hell? Was she going easy on Anko or what?"_ Nubutaka thought in shock over those last moves.

Inoha picked herself up off the ground and Imari rubbed the side of her face.

The two reentered their stances and charged a calm looking Izumi from different directions. At the last moment Izumi ducked and pulled the two forward causing them to collide with each other.

 _"That taijustu style of hers is seriously going to be no joke when she perfects it."_ Nubutaka thought seeing it for what it was.

 _"She said Itachi helps her train usually...maybe I should have him take my place!"_ Nubutaka thought seriously impressed.

He wondered why she held back when fighting Anko and what she was holding back against the girls.

Nubutaka smiled figuring since she was this good he'd allow the two to face her at what they were really good at next time, one at a time though of course.

He turned to the other spare that was going on at the moment.

Neji was sparing with Hatsue who Nubutaka knew to be stronger than the Hyuga therefore he didn't limit Neji to using a certain set of abilities like he would usually. He told Neji to simply land a hit on the woman and he would win the match, Hatsue was limited to only using her wiring arts.

The two had been going at it for a minute yet Hatsue stood in the same spot she started in displaying just how good she'd gotten with wiring techniques.

"Wind style: Pressure gale!" Neji said exhaling a small gust of wind which picked in speed up as it traveled kicking up dust and rocks as it rocketed towards Hatsue.

She flicked her wrist and Neji saw thin ninja wires vibrating at a very high frequency splitting apart his gale and reducing it to little more than a nice breeze.

Thankfully he'd only meant it as a distraction as he'd flickered behind the woman and threw three kunai into her circle.

She moved her fingers and the kunai fell to the ground harmlessly stopped just outside her range by a tangle of ninja wire.

He leapt into the air and threw three more kunai landing on the ground and throwing four, he quickly ran through hand signs before the first set could reach their target.

"Wind style: Vacuum blast!" Neji exhaled a stream of wind causing the second set of kunai to speed up blasting towards her faster than the first which were pretty much right on top of her.

Hatsue smiled seeing what he was trying to do and rotated moving her primary wires around her in a circle knocking the kunai away harmlessly.

Neji hadn't really expected that to work against her stalwart defense considering she'd blocked his strongest wind style justu with ease.

It was good to see how she reacted though, he'd pressure her some more with long distance attacks to keep her mind focused on defending ranged attacks then he'd try something else. He began forming hand signs for a justu he'd just learned from the Monogahi library.

"Earth style: Thousand senbon strike!" The earth at his feet opening and out launched a huge barrage of thin pieces of sharpened earth that did well to earn their name sake.

Hatsue began moving her arms around rapidly as she sent chakra through the wires increasing their speed, the senbon began slamming into the ball of rapidly spinning metal wires and Hatsue's sharingan took note of one too many almost making it through but luckily for her the barrage stopped soon after and her instincts told her to turn around.

She turned just in time to see another kunai flying towards her which she easily blocked with one movement of her finger but shortly after she turned to see Neji in a full sprint at her stepping inside her circle. She reacted quickly flicking her wrist and blasting him with enough wire to push him back a bit, not wanting to hurt him too much as getting hit with thin metal wires could prove to be very painful.

Manipulating the wires with chakra strings she wrapped a small tangle around his leg and spun around in a circle throwing him into the other Neji which must have been hiding in the bushes as kunai didn't just throw themselves, her assumption proved to be correct as Neji hit something solid and she could hear the obvious poof of a clone being dispelled.

Neji stood and decided it was time for his trump cards and formed a single hand sign as a clone popped into existence beside him.

He ran towards the Uchiha again just as Nubutaka expected and Hatsue spun in a circle sending a tangle of ninja wire flying through the air towards the Hyuga and his clone.

Neji's clone cupped it's palms and Neji jumped into them pushing off as the clone launched him into the air before being dispelled by the wires crashing into it from multiple angles.

Neji pulled a kunai from his pouch in mid air and hurled it towards the Uchiha who brought a single wire up with her right arm up blocking the kunai and sending more wires racing towards him.

Neji smirked substituting with the kunai that had fallen beside her surprising Hatsue who hadn't seen that technique before.

He brought his palm forward for a jab but much to his surprise after a quick shift of her fingers a tangle of ninja wire wrapped around his arm stopping his attack only an inch from her side.

She smiled and starting rotating her hands around each other gathering a tangle of ninja wire around both her wrist and backing away flexing her fingers and releasing his arm.

"Tch." Neji remarked looking at the woman with his Byakugan active.

Her manipulation of the wires without using chakra already seemed perfect so when she used the chakra wires it was practically impossible to get through her defense.

Even now he could see her subtly unraveling the wires she'd just wrapped around her wrist in a circle around her which she'd use to repel him once he moved in to attack her like she'd done the last few times.

He wondered if his sensei was even this good and began forming another plan.

Nubutaka wondered something similar as Hatsue didn't seemed to be serious, it looked like she wanted to see how many strategies Neji could devise.

Nubutaka used ninja wiring for trapping techniques but Hatsue was literally using it to fight, how she was using it really made it seem more like art than he'd ever seen before.

 _"If she had the magnet style no doubt she'd be better than me already, hell she might already be."_ Nubutaka thought as he watched the wires react to every movement she made.

Seemingly coming to life when Hatsue controlled them, he made a mental note to ask her how she'd come up with her technique later.

Neji began forming hand seals and Nubutaka knew what would come next.

"Water style: Rushing torrent!" Neji yelled spitting a large burst of rushing water towards the Uchiha.

Hatsue smiled and held her ground forming her own set of seals. "Earth style mud wall!"

The torrent hit the wall and began going around and Hatsue did something that definitely surprised her sensei.

She breathed fire into the chakra conducting wires and began twirling around moving the wires with her and creating a flaming tornado that burned out the remaining water which had it's pressure weakened by hitting the mud wall.

The woman stopped spinning about to relocate because she couldn't see over the mud wall. Before she could though two hands rose from the ground grabbing onto her legs and surprising her but she reacted quickly already knowing the Hyuga had won the spare with that but refusing to be pulled into the earth.

She spun her arms and the wires connected to her fingers dug into the ground. She began rotating her palms around each other and the hands let her go being pulled back into the ground by the wires.

She sighed shaking her head and looking disappointed in herself but smiling none the less.

Neji rose from the ground a few moments later.

"Looks like I won that match, Uchiha san." He said with a grin Hatsue's way.

"You definitely earned it, although next time I won't be so easy on you." She smirked causing Neji to sweat at the thought.

"We'll get started on your special training soon Neji I just need to talk to Hatsue for a moment." Nubutaka said as he came to stand among the duo.

Neji nodded and began walking towards the little blonde boy clearly seeing he was putting too much chakra into his feet as he was attempting to walk up the tree.

Nubutaka smiled grateful the Hyuga had no hesitation towards helping a fellow student and turned back towards Hatsue looking at her curiously.

"How'd you get so amazing with the wiring arts?"

"I- well..I just practiced a lot when I was inside the NEE facility and applied what I learned inside the field." Hatsue said blushing slightly at the complement.

"There are actually a number of shinobi who used the wiring arts inside the NEE program and I noticed no one fights with wiring techniques. Everyone just uses them for traps but something with different techniques is something with different styles of use, so I decided to create my own."

"When Danzo saw how I was attempting to develop a new technique he had a NEE opperative teach me how to create chakra strings which let me manipulate the wires as if they were a part of my body."

"When I got good enough to control over 15 wires at a time I started focusing on causing the chakra inside them to vibrate at different frequencies so I can give my dull wires cutting power when they need it or simply keep them as they are, I only use chakra wires now so it's much easier to control and sometimes I just stream chakra through the wires to make them faster and easier to control rather than creating chakra strings around them which takes a lot more concentration."

Nubutaka grinned widely at his student, she'd far surpassed him in the wiring arts in a short time. Her ingenuity was simply amazing, surely if she taught her technique one day she'd earn herself a place inside the shinobi history books.

"You're technique is really amazing if you don't mind me saying, you're definitely better than me concerning the wiring arts now." Nubutaka said truthfully.

"That's not possible sensei! I learned everything I know from you." Hatsue said not believing his words.

"It's true, I only use wiring techniques to trap my enemies. If I'm fighting using it then I'm using wires I wrap around my arms and legs to improve my speed and reaction time with the magnet style. What you've did is revolutionary, it's something entirely new."

Hatsue looked down not knowing exactly what to say.

You'll still teach me right?" She said after a moment looking regretful.

Nubutaka looked at her oddly for a moment before nodding.

"Of course, if you have something else you'd like to learn specifically. You can still come by to help me with training or just come by to visit when you want you don't need an excuse to come see me." Nubutaka said seriously.

"We appreciate each other's company and we're officially courting right now anyway, besides it's not like I plan on letting you get away from me again Tsue chan." He finished with a smile electing a smile and a blush the Uchiha woman didn't bother to hide.

Nubutaka took a moment to admire her before grinning as another thought crossed his mind.

"Did the elders of your clan or your grandfather inquire as to our kiss yesterday?"

Hatsue's blush deepened but her smile grew as she took a second to think back on the moment fondly.

"Not as of yet but I'm sure they will eventually." She said hoping they wouldn't but knowing they would.

"You know when I first requested to learn the wiring arts from you and you agreed the clan gave me a mission to seduce you." She said laughing at the embarrassing memory.

Nubutaka raised an eyebrow and started laughing having expected as much but not expecting to hear it.

"Honestly I would call your mission a success, you definitely did seduce me in a way. I found myself infatuated with you before I ever even realized it was happening." Nubutaka smiled grabbing the Uchiha's hand.

Hatsue's blush only returned as she mentally tripped over her words unsure of how to reply to that.

"I think it's actually unfair they would send such a beautiful woman to seduce a young man such as myself, it was only inevitable I cave eventually right." He grinned loving how her face was growing hotter by the moment.

"I care for you deeply Tsue, so don't worry about what your clan says or wants to come out of us kay? We can deal with that bridge when we cross it." He said pulling her close and pressing his forehead to hers before stealing a short kiss.

"Okay, Nubutaka." She breathed attempting to calm the butterflies raging within her stomach.

"Oh yeah." Nubutaka remembered not wanting to break the mood but knowing one of his students would do so eventually if they continued to stay as they were.

"The Hokage has some important information for you."

"The Hokage?" Hatsue said tilting her head wondering what someone in such a high place could possibly want with her.

 **No preview for next chapter sorry only do those for the chapters I feel will be either short or boring. Next chapter may be boring somewhat ironically lol**

 **Dialogue**

 **Shy:** So how was it?

 **Kasuf:** You barely gave me anytime to read before asking me how it was.

 **Shy:** You've had a whole day to read! Stop playing games with me fool!

 **Kasuf:** Such a harsh insult for your good pale Kasuf. If you must know I found it to pretty good, but we have to address one thing though.

 **Shy:** What's that?

 **Kasuf:** The Uchiha...Flash?

 **Shy:** What? I thought it would be pretty funny lol

 **Kasuf:** No.

 **Al Kabir:** Actually it gave me the chuckles.

 **Kasuf:** Geez Kabir just sign up for the Mr ass kiss of the year award why don't you.

 **Al Kabir:** I think you're just jealous my opinion holds more weight than yours.

 **Kasuf:** In your dreams wet bag...nobody likes a yes man.

 **Al Kabir:** I'm not a yes man I'm just not as much of a critic as some people. Points finger

 **Kasuf:** Please, this story could use for some constructive criticism...I am the voice of reason, the choosen one who whispers words of wisdom to the unwise, the gate keeper and the keeper of gates, the true greatness...the oh so precious line between all that is sacred and all that i-

 **Shy/Kabir:** SHUT UP KASUF!!!

 _Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter._


	12. Chapter 12

**This chapters basically a follow up to the events of the previous chapters and the next chapter will likely also be a short one that takes us two months into the future and they'll likely be another time skip soon after that**.

 **WARNING, to some this chapter may be boring.**

 **WARNING, it is not recommend you skip this chapter as it is necessary for keeping up with the story.**

 **DISCLAIMER, I do not own Naruto.**

 **WELL WISHES AND THANKS, to those who like this story. I really appreciate you guys thanks.**

 **Two** **days** **later** **Hidden** **W** **aterfall village** **5:45am**

"Welcome to our village Jiriya sama." A man in his middle ages greeted the man as he was lead into the room.

"Please no honorifics, if you feel the need to be formal though I'd prefer Jiriya san over sama." The Sannin said sitting in the chair opposite the man.

"My apologies lord Jiriya."

Jiriya nodded waving the man off hoping to skip the pleasantries and get to business.

"I'm sure the rest of the world hasn't heard yet but our leader Hisen has recently passed protecting the village." The man said doing just as Jiriya hoped he would.

"I'm very sorry for your villages lose." Jiriya replied wondering if that had something to do with the reason he was here.

"I appreciate the sentiment, I speak for all the village council when I say are very grateful the leaf has agreed to send an envoy to discuss our request for an alliance. Especially one of such renown as yourself."

"It's no problem, Konoha actually appreciates your request for an alliance but before we can agree on finalizing the agreement we need to know why."

The man nodded before pulling out a scroll and handing it to the Sannin.

Apparently it was a record of the village councils first meeting following the death of their newest leader, where they discussed the soundest course of action to undertake to ensure the continued safety and prosperity of their village without a strong intelligent leader capable of taking the riens at the moment.

Some lines were covered in long strokes of black ink which wasn't surprising to Jiriya as every village had their secrets to keep. He found his interest peeked at the councils debate over whether to find a competent shinobi in the village who could replace Hisen or to wait for his young son to reach an age where he'd be able to lead.

Jiriya assumed that since he was currently meeting with a village council member instead of some young shinobi of renown they'd decided upon the later decision of waiting for Hisen's boy to age a bit.

He skimmed further down the scroll looking for what ge was meant to see stumbling upon the words of an elder recommending the village reach out to one of the greater villages in hopes of an alliance that'd help to ensure economic stability as well as deter any potential threats.

After nearly five full paragraphs of arguing it seemingly became clear to the council Konoha was their best bet as Iwa or Kumo would simply attempt to use them and Suna, Ame and Kiri were in no position to help anyone at the time of their request.

Jiriya closed the scroll and laid it on the table taking a moment to consider how to best word his next few questions and what order he should place them in.

"So if Konoha does agree to this alliance...exactly what is it you and your village would expect from us?"

"Nothing but perhaps a revision of our old trade agreement seeing as Konoha has recently happened upon a new surplus of rare goods. We'd also ask that in our time of need your shinobi will lend aid to our village free of charge although all mission request from our village to yours will still be paid in full."

Jiriya nodded figuring as much. "So as for Konoha lending aid in Taki's time of need is your village prepared to do the same?"

The man nodded his head immediatly leaving Jiriya no with no doubts as to whether or not Taki's leadership had thought this plan through thoroughly before actually acting upon it.

"How about in the case of war?" Jiriya asked the million dollar question.

The man looked slightly nervous at the question seeming to think about it for a moment.

"In the case of Konoha going to war our village will offer all the support we can but we are unwilling to jepardize the safety of our village fighting for another."

Jiriya nodded liking the answer and finding no problem with it. "So this isn't some elaborate scheme with Kumo or Iwa to lure the leaf village into a false alliance with your village so you can stab us in the back and launch a joint invasion?" He asked watching the man closely.

"What!? Nooo of course not! Taki would never resort to such a shameful act, it is simply as I've said. The village has just lost the greatest leader it's ever had and we're in need of a strong alley to ensure we make it through this tough time unscathed."

"And what exactly does your village have to offer Konoha in exchange for an alliance? Your villages trade is already ensured as to stop now and form a trade agreement with someone else would mean to reveal to the world your village is without a leader. If the leaf were to go to war no doubt we could benefit from Taki's assistance but we've already manage to win two wars on our own and asking a village to lend you aid free of charge is a pretty big deal when we aren't asking the same."

The man was visibly surprised by the question and started to grow more nervous by the second as he struggled to find a satisfactory answer that would ensure his villages request for an allowance was not rejected and word of their leaders death wasn't leaked or used against them.

He relented sighing after a while adopting a look of defeat.

"I am sorry Jiriya san but all we have to offer you are the things we've already listed, a minor village is hardly in a position to provide anything to a greater one unfortunately. I do hope you can look pass this as Taki would offer Konoha the same aid free of charge you'd extend to us in times of need."

Jiriya nodded after a moment pulling out a pencil and a small scroll he began writing on before summoning a toad he handed the scroll to and told to deliver it to the Hokage.

The toad disappeared and Jiriya retook his seat waiting for the reply that'd be coming any moment now trying not to look at the now nervous council member who he was sure to stay aware of as he was the two Waterfall anbu standing watch over the two in front of the entrance to the room.

"If it does anything to calm your nerves it's likely the Third Hokage will agree to your request." He said after a moment feeling the man's nervousness grating on his nerves.

"Really? You think so?" The man asked sounding more than hopeful.

Jiriya nodded knowing there was no way his sensei would turn down an alliance request even with it was with one of the minor villages. The third Hokage was a man who would sooner make peace than war, and although in his day and possibly even now the man proved to be an admirable fighter he was also a lover of people from all walks of life and if anything he'd feel for Taki after being told of the position they were in.

The toad poofed back into the room and Jiriya took the scroll unrolling it and smiling at the man shooting him a thumbs up. The smile that spread on the man's face could almost be said to have been jovial but it was quickly replaced by a professional one as he was expected to act like a council member considering he held the position of one.

The hidden waterfall village can not thank you enough for this, please inform your Hokage that we are very grateful." The man said stepping forward and extending his hand.

"I'll be sure to let him know. He ask that you and your council write up a new trade agreement between our villages and send it to him so that he can review it." Jiriya said standing to leave.

"If you don't mind I'd also like to stay a day or two in your lovely village to rest for my journey back to the leaf." The sannin requested.

"I don't see any problem with your request please enjoy yourself while you are here...but before you go I do have a question for you those in my village have been wondering about for some time."

Jiriya turned raising an eyebrow telling the man to fire away with his question.

"Is there any truth behind the rumors the Monogahi clan has reemerged from their extinction somehow and are now a part of Konoha?"

Jiriya snickered at the question surprised this was the first time someone had asked him about it.

"Actually those aren't rumors at all and yes they are now a part of Konoha although that's all the information on them I can spare." Jiriya said turning to walk towards the exit.

"Thank you again Jiriya sama."

The toad sage sighed wishing the Sannin title didn't always carry such weight in the shinobi world but then again it did sometimes get him ladies and people addressing him with respect wasn't that bad sometimes so perhaps it was something of a double edged sword.

 **Land of wind** **5:50am**

The sun sat in the sky looming over the ground like a cold and beautiful mistress of unbearable heat and blinding light that scorched the land around them and quite possibly also the air leaving the genin wondering how carvans like this were known to travel along this route frequently in these sweltering conditions.

Lucky for Shikono he'd told the genin no complaining before they'd even embarked on the mission although he really didn't think they would anyway seeing as all three of them were already in possession of a strong shinobi mindset and they knew the lifestyle wasn't easy.

He'd brought dessert traveling cloaks that blocked the suns rays from the grouo but it did little to protect them from the heat. The hot dessert land scape only seemed to radiate it's own heat and reflect the harsh light of the sun resulting in the entire group including the desert traveling carvaners to constantly squint less their eyes water or a grain of hot sand land in their eyes the next time a gust of wind flew by them, but the worse part by far was how the sun seemed to rise three hours earlier than usual in the desert.

"Sensei, large group of shinobi approaching at a business like pace fifteen meters out. There's three of them and Shisui and Itachi are reporting the same thing." A shadow clone said landing in front of Shikono.

Shikono leapt on top of the nearest couch and saw rogue sand shinobi approaching from all directions.

 _"I knew it, just something in the clouds."_ The man sighed creating two shadow clones and wondering how best to go about this.

"Okay brats listen up! I'll handle the five shinobi in the rear and on the three on the right, you guys will take the three in the front and the three in the back. Remember, your typical rogue nin are only chunin but anyone of them could be a jounin so don't underestimate them and do not let your guard down!" Shikono said jumping off the carvan and rushing to intercept his targets before they could get anywhere near the merchants.

"Hamura, me and Itachi will take the left since you have more justu suited for taking on multiple enemies. We'll help you out as soon as possible."

Hamura nodded creating a shadow clone that charged the men along with his rock bushin.

Itachi and Shisui were already rushing towards their enemies. Shisui with his swords in hand and Itachi holding a kunai.

Hamura stood back intent on observing his clones first and gauging the strength of his opponents shocked when his rock bushin was seemingly swallowed by the sand right in front of him.

The rogue sand nin stopped a short distance away from his clone and appraised it coldly before it too was swallowed into the sand.

Hamura held his hand up forming the seal of confrontation and channeled chakra to the clones that'd just been buried but not dispelled creating a large explosion of sand, creating another shadow clone and rushing forward hoping he'd gotten their ally or whatever it was they had in the sand that was being used to attack.

Itachi clashed with one of the rogue nin his kunai grinding against a fuma shurieken as he felt his feet sliding backwards in the sand as the man sneered at him obviously thinking the genin to be nothing of a threat.

Itachi made sure he was making eye contact and quickly activated his sharingan causing the man's sense's to go haywire as he thought up was down back was forward and left was right falling on his ass at the sudden change in equilibrium and scowling at the boy he now knew to be an Uchiha pulsing his chakra to disrupt the genjustu and blocking a kunai aimed for his heart in the nic of time.

He looked around finding Itachi had disappeared not realizing he was in another genjustu that created a replica of his surroundings but only allowed him to see what Itachi wanted him to see.

Meanwhile Shisui was engaged in a kenjustu battle with the two other rogue nin finding they were too fast and precise with their kunai strikes for him to go on the offensive and everytime he attempted to get away to create a shadow clone a kunai quickly followed wherever he showed up.

The man in front of him made a swipe at his face just barely missing his sharingan, Shisui turned blocking a strike from the other man and quickly spun redirecting a follow up of the first shinobi's attack flipping into the air over them wanting to attempt a spinning assault but a chain quickly wrapped around his leg pulling him back towards the ground.

Shisui tried to stand but fell again as the man holding the chain pulled his leg forcing him back down.

The other shinobi brought his crude twin swords down towards the Uchiha and Shisui quickly raised his blades in an X formation blocking the attack. The man reared his blades up again bringing them back down to strike the blade as the other rogue nin pulled on the chain causing Shisui's guard to slacken as the man brung his swords back down and Shisui's eyes went wide.

Before the man could slash Shisui roughly though the ninja holding the chain quickly leapt away as the guy holding the swords turned and held his arms up in an X formation being slammed by a fireball and flying a short distance away.

Itachi quickly ran to his cousin and unwrapped the chain from his leg as Shisui got to his feet to observe the men they were fighting.

"Tch, Damn brat! You'll pay for that kid!" The man said with a furious glare towards Itachi.

"You should be dead." The Uchiha commented unsure of how he survived a fireball head on.

"Please...I've been hit with much stronger justu than that before. We're desert dwellers we live in the heat, and if you think I'm gonna die to some piss ant little genin from the Uchiha clan you've got another thing coming." The man said disregarding his now burnt hands and arms and twirling his swords in his hands menacingly as his partner pulled out a kunai.

Just then the ninja Itachi had trapped in a genjustu flickered into the clearing scowling at the shorter haired Uchiha as if he'd like nothing more than to wring his neck at the moment.

Shisui created a shadow clone hoping to even the odds a bit as Itachi pulled out another kunai hoping Hamura could hold his own long enough for them to finish here. If they could finish seeing as these guys seemed to be out of their league so far.

 _"These guys are definitely chunin, their speed and skill are an easy show of being beyond the genin rank and they haven't even used any justu yet."_ Itachi thought glad the men didn't seem to be taking them seriously.

"You little Konoha prick! Once I'm done with you I'm gonna pluck those special eyeballs of yours right out of your damn eye sockets and sell them to the highest bidder!" The man who'd been trapped in the genjustu yelled obviously mad at being tricked.

Shisui smirked at the angry man's comment almost turning towards his cousin to see how impassive he knew he'd be about it. "I'm almost jealous Itachi...it seems like they really like you." Shisui said inwardly chuckling at himself.

"Not funny Shisui." Itachi sighed glad his cousin could at least derive humor out of the situation.

Meanwhile Hamura was not having an easy time with his battle having needed to detonate his last clone to send a shower of sand into the air so he'd have temporary relief from the assualt.

He'd figured out one of the men he was facing would create a clone which used some sand tunneling justu to attempt to drag him and his clones deep into the ground where they'd be buried alive.

He was currently hiding behind one of the stage couches for the carvan waiting for the rogue nin to drop their guards already finished the justu seals his hands held in the tiger seal waiting patiently with chakra already infused.

"Kid must have ran hehe. Let's go take out that jounin in the back!" One of the nin said as they began rushing forward.

 _"Now or never! Fire Style!"_

Hamura stepped from behind the couch and breathed a stream of fire which spread out and grew to a wide birth giving the now shocked shinobi nowhere to run.

 _"Great fire annahlation!"_ He thought towards the end increasing the potency of the attack and hoping it hit the targets as a large portion of the sand in front of him burned from the aftermath of the attack.

When the flames died down a good portion of the sand in front of him was solid glass but he had a sinking feeling his enemies had tunneled into the sand before that attack hit them. He didn't know how but he just knew.

 _"At least that'll buy me a couple of seconds till they find somewhere to resurface."_ He thought wanting to go help Itachi and Shisui but unwilling to abandon his post and let the shinobi through to go ambush his sensei _. "Daamnit if only I were a sensory nin!"_

Meanwhile at the back of the carvan Shikono had all eight rogue nin in a shadow paralysis justu he'd easily caught them in thanks to a distraction by his shadow clones.

"You can't hold us here forever weakling!"

Shikono scoffed.

"Whoever said I wanted to?" He said forming the rat seal causing a hand made of shadow to snake it's way up the man's body and begin strangling him causing his comrades eyes to widen in fear as the man's body collapsed in the sand and the tendril of shadow that was connected to his body retreated.

"Now I want answers." The man said turning to appraise the others coldly.

"Got damn fool, aren't you worried about your genin!?!?"

Shikono turned regarding the man with a frown before doing the same thing to him he'd done with the other rogue nin who'd spoken out.

As the shadow retreated from the other man's body he sighed and stretched a bit loosening his shoulders.

"I'll be the only one asking questions here." He said regarding the remaining six ninja he had trapped in the justu.

"No one here's scared of you Konoha scum, if you think killing a few of us will get u- Aaahhhh!!!" The man screamed as Shikono's shadow shot a number of spikes into his arms and legs causing him to fall to the ground.

The same hand of shadow responsible for the death of the other two shinobi slowly snaked it's way up the man's pants legs and up his torso to wrap around his neck and strangle him slowly as he attempted to beg for air but much to the horror and dismay of his comrades found his neck being broken with a sickening crunch unlike his comrades who'd died a less painless although equally frightening death from suffocation.

"Five of you left, anyone else have any questions or anything to say?" He questioned his eyes daring anyone to answer his question.

"Good, now I want to know why such a large group of rogue nin were waiting here for our carvan, you guys can either start talking or my shadows start moving."

The rogue sand shinobi all gulped sweating more from the threats of the cold Nara than the sun as his glare gave off an intensity that was giving them the chills in the hot heat of the desert.

Shisui groaned upon realizing his clone wasn't helping much as once the man had reclaimed his chain he proved to be more than enough of a match for his sword play with it and come tomorrow he definitely would have the brusies to prove it.

The man was rapidly spinning the chains back and forth forcing Shisui to try his best at blocking them but unfortunately for him the chains were long and easily went around his swords and there was just no way he could break them. His clone had it no easier as his opponent proved to be both stronger and faster than him and Shisui's rare style coupled with his skill with the flicker was the only thing actually keeping the clone alive.

Itachi was busy having a staring contest as he attempted to hold his opponent in a genjustu which he continuesly broke out of only for Itachi to continuesly place him in another.

 _"I need stronger genjustu."_ The Uchiha affirmed his thoughts from after his battle with Neji.

Shisui getting tired of being on the defensive flickered behind the man only for him to quickly spin bringing his chains around in a fast arch Shisui had to quickly duck to avoid. The rogue sand nin continued to spin lowering his chains causing Shisui to role on the ground to avoid them a second time using his hands and feet to push off the ground a moment afterwards when the chains came around this time in a low sweeping motion along the sand.

He tried to quickly move in on the shinobi as he was in a half spin but the man turned around quickly this time swinging both chains separately at the Uchiha.

Shisui quickly leapt of of the way of one of the chains finding the other quickly wrapping around his leg and holding him in place as a heavy kunai on the other end of the chain was hurled directly towards the area between his eyes.

Shisui quickly flickered finding the distance he could travel hindered as the man pulled on the chain still around his leg.

The man attempted to pull the chain again but Shisui flickered in front of him before he could slamming one of his swords into the chains links and using the handle as leverage to kick the man hard in his chest sending him tumbling back by a few feet.

He quickly unwrapped the chain from around his ankle and flickered again avoiding another swing of the chain only to reappear and have one of his swords drop into the sand as the chain came into contact with his hand forcing him to grit his teeth and gain some more distance as he waved his hand back and forth attempting to lessen the pain.

The man began laughing at him twirling his chain a short distance away.

Shisui began getting fustrated when he recalled the words of his sensei.

 _"Shisui, you'd do better to control your emotions in battle. Always try to stay calm, if_ _the enemy can manipulate how you feel manipulating the battle becomes easier for them, remember that."_ That memory gave him an idea he felt either might or might not work but it was worth a shot.

"Ya know if it wasn't for those stupid chains I'd be mopping the floor with you right now."

The man stopped laughing and spinning the chains to regard Shisui in disbelief for a moment.

"What'd you just say brat?" He asked trying to ensure he'd heard the kid right.

"You heard me weakling. The range on those stupid chains as well as their flexibility is the only thing keeping you safe from my blades right now. I can see why you failed as a shinobi considering you have to rely on a certain weapon to be any good."

The man's face went from an indignant frown to a furious scowl and just like Shisui had hoped he tossed the chains aside pulling two kunai from his holder.

"I'm gonna make you eat those words Uchiha!"

Shisui smirked loving how the man had so easily played right into his hand already forming another plan he would need to act on fast as his clone could barely continue to keep up with the man with the duel blades and no doubt Hamura was in need of backup by now.

Shisui and the man charged each other and clashed trading a few blows and just like the Uchiha thought. The rogue nin still proved to be a few leagues above him but luckily his kunai wouldn't provide him with the same flexible defense as his chains and he obviously wasn't as experienced with them.

Shisui and the man continued to clash and as soon as he found himself starting to get overwhelmed Shisui quickly took a move from Nubutaka's book he'd forever be grateful for faltering in his foot work seemingly making a mistake.

The man grinned wickedly moving in for the kill and Shisui whistled loudly alerting Itachi and using the replacement justu a moment later.

The arrogant rogue nin found a younger Uchiha standing in front of him a second later easily ducking under his reckless attack and stabbing a kunai into his chest.

 _"N-No way...that other brat set me up..."_ The man thought before falling to the desert floor as blood began pooling from his chest and the life began fading from his eyes.

Shisui trading places with Itachi found himself in front of the man Itachi had been constantly struggling to keep under a genjustu.

With the younger Uchiha gone the man was quickly coming back to his sense's but unfortunately for him Shisui wasn't as subtle when it came to fighting as his cousin.

As soon as the man regained his sense's the first thing he became aware of was a blade of bone piercing his chest and his body falling backwards as his vision began to fade and haze over.

"I..I..can't...die...here..." The man said choking the words out through the blood that was pooling in his throat.

Shisui felt a stab of pity for the man as did Itachi for the other shinobi who now lay dead as well but the two quickly disregarded it and rushed to aid Shisui's clone in taking down the duel wielding sand nin. Upon Itachi telling Shisui he and his clone would handle the man Shisui turned and began rushing in Hamura's direction.

The young Monogahi shinobi was inside a strong dome of earth nursing a deep gash wound on his shoulder with a pained expression.

Turned out the rogue nin with the sand tunneling abilities had decided to save his comrades and perished to his great fire annihilation. His buddies hadn't been too happy about that and along with the injured shoulder Hamura also thought he might have a few broken ribs because he felt a sharp pain every time he drew breath.

It was all he could do to have his last shadow clone create a dome for him to hold out in hopping his sensei or his comrades would be done with their battles soon as he was fresh out of chakra and highly doubted he'd be of any use in this state.

The constant banging against the dome stopped and he thought he heard the sounds of battle outside but he dared not lower the walls incase it happened to be a trick. He could easily become a hostege in this situation and he'd prefer not to get in the way.

The boy began cursing himself many times over for having no sensory abilities. He hoped his teammates would be okay and really wished he could've done more to help.

Shikono stood holding three shinobi in his shadow paralysis justu as three of them were dead and unknown to the other rogues two of them were just unconscious.

"I think that's everything I needed to know." The man said moving a shadowed hand up to the necks of his prisoners.

"Y-You're a heartless bastard! First you leave your genin to the mercy of our comrades, now you're going to kill us after we gave you the information you wanted!!!" One of the men yelled seemingly outraged as tears could be seen streaming down his face.

"It's more likely so I left your comrades at the mercy of my genin. While they are just children those kids have a talent you don't see very often and even if they do sustain some injures I'm sure all three of them will survive till I get there." Shikono said calmly as he began strangling the other two shinobi who looked at him with pleading expressions and eyes that begged for mercy.

"But-"

"Shut up...tears don't befit an experienced shinobi on the battlefield. We cry after we've finished our battles and faced the consequences of what our actions and our lifestyle may bring. You can share your tears with your comrades in hell for all I care." Shikono said as his shadow clamped down on the man's throat giving him no chance to reply.

Shisui was panting as he attempted to keep up with both shinobi at once sparing another glance at the rock dome and wishing Hamura would come out and assist him.

He still wasn't sure if the trail of blood on the ground was his teammates or if it belonged to the third member of this group who was nowhere to be seen but he really hoped it was the later.

Suddenly he felt a presence behind him and nearly panicked when he felt a hand on his shoulder but sighed in relief upon realizing it was his sensei with Itachi and his clone standing behind him.

"I've got these two kid go check on your comrade." He said stepping forward and looking to the rogue nin with something akin to scorn.

"That large expanse of glass behind you could only be caused by fire style justu so I'm gonna assume it was done by my genin. I'll also assume the third member of this group was turned to ash in the attack and that blood on the ground belongs to the ninja in that dome correct?" He said questioning the now nervous men coldly.

The rogue ninja now seeing they were out matched quickly turned and attempted to flee but Shikono didn't let them get far.

Shisui and Itachi were in front of the dome and felt relief when it started lowering only for that relief to make way for horror at seeing the state their teammate was in.

Hamura was panting heavily as if it was hard to breathe, the entire floor of the dome was soaked in a dark red substance they knew to be the blood that was now slowly trickling from the deep wound on his shoulder. He was attempting to keep pressure on the wound with one hand while holding his side with the other wincing at every breath he took.

"It's great to finally see you guys." He said wincing even more as he spoke.

"Sensei!" Shisui called knowing their friend hand lost a lot of blood. If he was of a lighter shade like Nubutaka his skin would probably be pale from the large amount of it that was soaking into the sand he sat on.

Shikono finished with the last two nin quickly flickered to his genin and paled a bit upon taking in Hamura's condition.

The Monogahi boy just smirked knowing it was over and allowed himself to finally lose conciousness collapsing in a pool of his own blood.

 **Monogahi compond** **6:05am**

Nubutaka looked up from his early morning paperwork and frowned placing a hand to his chest as he got the feeling as if something wasn't right. He didn't know how or why but suddenly his heart seemed to gain a very heavy feeling.

 **Uchiha compond** **6:05am**

Hatsue moved through the halls behind her grandfather knowing exactly what this meeting was about but wondering why it was called so suddenly in the dead of morning when the sun was just beginning to rise.

Regardless of how she felt about it though she had no choice but to comply when her grandfather woke her up earlier than she could recall ever rising before.

After a short walk once they were inside the Uchiha temple they reached the main chamber and Hatsue was lead inside her grogginess disappearing completely when faced with the onyx eyes of so many clans men directed at her.

Usually she would have been nervous but after spending a certain amount of time around Danzo and being cornered by Orochimaru himself the stares of none of these men could intimidate her.

She walked to the center of the room bowing respectfully to a seated Fugaku Uchiha as her grandfather went and took a seat to the far right.

"You summoned me my lord?"

"Hizisho, has your granddaughter forgotten her manners? Such impertenance to walk into a room filled with your betters and only acknowledged one of them." An elder in the back of the room spoke with clear contempt for the girl.

Hatsue turned to frown at the man bitting her tongue as she quickly turned away not bothering to reply to his statement.

She didn't need to be a Hyuga or a sensory nin to know the man was glaring daggers at her back.

"Hizisho! Is this the true nature of those under your house hold? Obviously your granddaughter thinks because she's earned the favor of the Monogahi clan head she can get away with such disrespect!"

"Actually sir it is you who forgets your place. The only person in the clan who isn't my grandfather who happens to be in a position to be called my better is the clan head himself. You are no better than me, you're just a full blooded Uchiha who's been given the privilege of attending clan meetings. Being an elder only means you've survived long enough to earn the title."

"And also...my relationship with Nubutaka has nothing to do with my disregard of the rule that states I show respect to people who've only shown me hate and disgust my entire life." Hatsue said turning to level the man with a mask of stoicism in which one could see a bit of disdain.

Hizishio's eyes widened seeing his grandaughter speak so boldly. For the first time since she'd been born he felt a sliver of pride for the girl and as such he chose not to reprimand her.

The room was now abuze with surprised mummers as even Fugaku was surprised at the girls balsey statement. No doubt her new strength of personality as well as her emotionless mask had been tempered inside of the NEE program. The once timid half blood who'd always tried to her best to stay out of the way was now a confident kunochi who no longer hide how she truly felt from the clan.

Fugaku was proud Hanataru's kid was growing into her own as the man's line was a noble one, something everyone seemed to forget when Hatsue was involved.

"How dare you speak out against one of the elders girl! You are an Uchiha of lower status than half of us sitting in this room! It doesn't matter how one gets the title when faced with the fact one has it and another doesn't." A young Uchiha who was seated not too far from the elder spat obviously upset by her comment.

Hatsue turned towards the man still looking just as impassive as before, taking on the demeanor of one who really held no interest in the conversation they were undergoing.

"I will show some respect to the elders of this clan when I am no longer scorned because of my heritage. I don't see why I should have to bow towards a person who will only glare at me as I do so. Respect is a two way street after all." Hatsue said learning that last part from her time in NEE. While it's members didn't seemed to hold feelings or emotion of any kind towards each other some if them did actually respect others if they were strong.

The elder from earlier stood activating his sharingan as he leveled a vicious glare at the calm mask of uninterest the woman had on display.

"You will pay dearly for that rude attitude you're taking up with your betters girl! Mark my words, Hatsue Uchiha! Beauty can easily be taken away from an individual with the right type of beating...I doubt Nubutaka Monogahi might find you so fetching were you covered in bruised or sporting a broken nose."

For a moment the entire room seemed to hold it's breath as a number of Uchiha wondered if the man's comment had been a step too far.

Hatsue didn't reply with words immediately but she did narrow her eyes fixing the elders crimson stare of rage with a crimson stare of her own that oddly enough conveyed no emotion at all besides a sliver of anger.

"Is that a threat sir?" Hatsue asked attempting to keep her emotions in check like she'd always done in all her dealings with NEE.

She didn't even know why she wasn't backing down or why she'd decided not to bow towards the council men as she'd always done in the past. She found the thought of doing either of those things to be something nearly detestible after spending her time around a small army of emotionless killers without morals or mercy. Most of these men were overprivledged nobles with something of a god complex.

Coming back to her clan after being gone for a short while showed her just how close minded and entitled some of them could be towards someone they deemed to be lesser. Even in NEE where people felt nothing at all they at least respected strength when it could be found. The snake Sannin Orochimaru had told her to keep using her fire for it suited her better, and she found she actually like the strength it provided.

She'd always felt small and worthless around the elders before but now she wouldn't stand to be underestimated or intimidated by those who'd never even made an attempt to understand her but sought to use her for their own ends.

The elder she'd spoken to looked as if he wished to reply but stopped feeling two strong glares piercing into his skin and turning to notice both her father and her grandfather sparing him two fiery crimson glares of barely concealed rage.

"It is a warning." He spat in a lower and less threatening tone retaking his seat.

Fugaku scoffed and almost wanted to laugh at the look of embarrassment that the elder attempted to hide when he was intimidated into shutting his mouth by her family members. The man clearly had overstepped his bonds and definitely went too far in his anger which Fugaku thought was foolish to begin with considering there were others in the Uchiha who had no title and still saw fit to bow to no one besides Fugaku himself. For example Hanataru Uchiha who happened to be the girls father.

The room went silent for a moment and Hatsue allowed the sharingan to fade from her eyes.

"My apologies for the interruption." Hatsue said turning to Fugaku and showing great maturity by apologizing for an interruption that was really hardly her fault.

Fugaku waved a dismissive hand at her developing a bit more respect for the kunochi.

"How goes the mission to spy on Danzo and his organization?" The clan head inquired surprising the entirety of the room who'd known of no such mission.

"Very pyschologically taxing to say the least, but I have been able to come across a piece of very sensitive information I think it would be best to share with you alone."

Fugaku had not been expecting this and nodded his consent before continuing.

"On to the matter I truly called you here for, according to two of our gate guards you and Nubutaka shared a moment of passion where the man kissed you after walking you home three days ago. However before your return on that day you were said to have not been seen around the compond for around two weeks. Where have you been in the time that you were away fron the compond?" Fugaku asked causing curiousity to rise in the minds of the other Uchiha gathered in the room.

The nobody wanna be kunochi girl who most of the clan had seen as a stain on one of their noble lines was now an asset considering her relationship to Nubutaka.

Hatsue's eyes registered surprise at the question which she quickly covered before replying.

"I was dealing with a certain backlash from the mission you set before me."

"You were unable to continue?" Fugaku asked wondering what she meant and if it meant she could no longer keep an eye on Danzo for him.

"Not exactly but I would say I definitely came across a complication or two." Hatsue said remembering her conversation with the Hokage.

While she was very grateful to the Hokage and even happy she now had a way to achieve the goal she wanted for Imari Inoha and herself she'd also felt a pang of guilt knowing Fugaku would likely be dissapointed once he got the news. The clan head was one of few Uchiha in the compond who never scowled at her as she passed or looked at her like she was something of a pest for being a half blood.

Fugaku merly nodded figuring he could wait until later to go into specifics. "So where exactly do you stand with Nubutaka now? I'd like to know are the two of you officially courting or was it just something he'd done in the spur of the moment."

Hatsue looked down attempting to hide a small smile and the warmth she felt in her cheeks as she recalled the man's words.

"According to him we're now officially courting. He plans to ask my mother and father for permission to do so as soon as he gets the chance but he already knows they won't refuse."

Fugaku nodded glad to have his thoughts confirmed. It was good to know the Uchiha were one step closer to having Monogahi blood intermingled into the clan and this night also prove to be another tie between them that could increase clan relations further.

"Does anyone have any questions for Hatsue before I declare this meeting to be finished?"

"I'd like to know how exactly you became so close to the clan in such a short amount of time, as well as how you were able to gain the affection of it's leader as this information could prove useful in the future." A man towards the back asked.

"Other than just being myself I really couldn't tell you."

"How is it you're unable to tell us how you completed your mission?" An elder man closer towards the front inquired.

Hatsue bit her lip wondering how best to answer that question before deciding the truth would probably be optimal.

"Honestly I never attempted to seduce Nubutaka, or to get closer to the Monogahi. He developed feelings for me on his own and as for the clan their all so friendly I was practically family after the second time I joined them for dinner. My intention from the start was to learn wiring arts from the man and that's all I intended to do. Someone as timid as me would have hardly been any good at purposely seducing anyone anyway."

Some of the men nodded likely figuring the same thing or just having had their questions answered. Some of them looked surprised at her statement and how blunt she was being about never intending to complete the mission she'd been given.

Fugaku didn't know how to feel about that part but he did appreciate her honesty on the matter, and the fact she'd completed the mission anyway.

"How'd you awaken your sharingan?" Another voice chimed in earning her a bunch of curious stares as some halfblood Uchiha were incapable of doing so. The fact that she did would actually increase her respect within the clan.

"By seeing three people I care for greatly attacked by three individuals who were much older and bigger than them. I earned my tomoe by staining my hands with the blood of foreign shinobi, unlocking the final pair upon executing a civilian traitor to the land of fire." Hatsue said furrowing her brow and frowning at the last part as she attempted to repress the image of the dead woman she felt would forever haunt her.

The assembly looked on at the Uchiha woman wondering just what kind of mission Fugaku had entrusted her with and exactly what else she'd been doing lately. It seemed as if the woman standing before them now was an entirely different person than the girl who'd overstepped her bounds at the training field months ago.

The room remained silent for a moment and Hatsue looked around wondering if anyone else had any questions for her when a man stood up.

"Well we now know the Monogahi clan head has feelings for you or in the very least finds you attractive. What exactly are your feelings towards him?"

Hatsue's eyes widened at the question and for the first time since stepping into the room she averted her eyes from the dark analytical gazes of the gathered Uchiha.

Fugaku opened his mouth about to remark that her feelings were of no relevance to the meeting and such personal questions should only be asked by someone close to the girl when she beat him to the reply.

"Nubutaka is firm and strong yet kind and empathetic, he's my idol and possibly even my best friend." The woman said with a fond smile. "I care for him deeply so if you were concerned about me not encouraging his efforts to court me you have nothing to worry about, but I'd rather not look at it like a mission. I'd be doing it because I want to." Hatsue said more than serious with her statement.

The man nodded and the room was silent once again as no one seemed to have anymore questions. Fugaku nodded his head and told the men they were dismissed before telling Hatsue to follow him to the office down the hall so that they may speak of her mission.

Upon stepping inside the room and waiting till Hatsue was inside Fugaku closed the door placing a privacy seal on it and walking to the chair behind the desk that saw little use these days as the clans finances had been managed by him since the treasurer fell ill and this office along with all in it belonged to whoever held that position.

He gestured for Hatsue to sit in the chair across from him and she complied.

"So..you said you had some information I would find interesting?"

Hatsue nodded glad he'd placed the privacy seal as even the Uchiha weren't known to be above gossip.

"A few days ago a certain series of events resulted in me entering a NEE facility Danzo previously forbade me from entering, there I discovered the traitor Orochimaru is working with or under Danzo."

Fugaku's eyes widened slightly at her statement. The man known to be at the top of Konoha's hitlist was working with Danzo?

"Do you have any proof of this?" The man asked hopeful.

"Unfortunately no, but I did have the displeasure of verifying it was him with my own eyes and he even reffered to himself as such during our brief conversation as did Danzo." Hatsue said repressing a shiver at the memory.

Fugaku would have found what she was saying hard to believe were it not for the look of discomfort she developed when speaking of the snake, as if recalling an unpleasant memory.

"Were you able to find out what him and Danzo were working on?"

Hatsue shook her head. "Apparently whatever it was it's important to Danzo."

"Indeed." Fugaku said brain storming as to all the reasons Danzo would have to harbor the snake finding none of them he could think of were good.

"Danzo didn't attempt to kill you after your run in with the snake?"

"I think he believed I wouldn't mention it to anyone and it might have been too risky for him to get rid of me."

Fugaku nodded. "Have you shared this information with anyone else?"

"No, I honestly didn't plan to."

"Good, without proof it'd just be seen as Uchiha spreading rumors against an elder council member. Are you still capable of spying on the man for me?"

Hatsue shook her head no developing a down troddened facial expression. "My time in NEE was taking it's tole on my mental condition and as such the Hokage thought it better for me to join the regular anbu black ops. I'm sorry that that was all the information I was capable of gathering."

Fugaku nodded figuring he still could have some use for her somewhere down the lines.

"Is not a problem, you've already done enough. I appreciate you taking the risk involved with such a task, and if you don't mind I'd like you to mark the locations of all the NEE hideouts you're aware of on a map I have for you."

"I'd be glad to but I don't think it would do you much good as Danzo is always moving them to avoid detection."

Fugaku nodded figuring as much. "It'll still help me get a sense of familiarity with the kind of locations he likes to choose for his organizations bases."

Hatsue nodded and started marking all bases that she knew of on the map highlighting the one with Orochimaru with the kanji for snake.

"I'd like to thank you for all your service to Konoha and the Uchiha." Fugaku said standing and rolling the map up to place it in one of his vest pockets.

Hatsue gave a jovial smile that reminded Fugaku of a child who'd just impressed an authority figure.

"Thank you Fugaku sama, I'm very grateful for your appreciation." She said standing to bow at the man.

"Don't mention it, you're deserving of it. I'll be getting in touch with you again sometime in the future if I am in need of more assistance." Fugaku said almost smiling at the girls willingness to prove herself useful.

Hatsue's smile widened a bit and she gave a respectful nod to the man before taking her leave.

Once in the hallway she couldn't help but grin, this whole time she'd thought she failed her clan head but apparently she didn't and he was actually grateful for her efforts. Grateful enough to request her assistance on something else in the future. Hatsue decided since she was already up she'd go see what Nubutaka was up to since she knew he rised early.

Meanwhile inside the office Fugaku stood and decided he'd make use of the information inside the scroll and go have a conversation with the snake later himself.

 **Hyuga compond** **6:15am**

Hiashi woke and nearly panicked when he felt his wife no longer in the bed beside him. He shot up into a sitting position relief pouring into his chest when he saw her at their window taking in the morning air with a content smile.

"Good morning Hiashi sama." She said without ever turning to face him.

"Good morning Hiaku." He smiled getting out of the bed and walking towards her to take in the fresh morning air and the chirping of birds alongside his wife. "How are you feeling?"

"Better than ever thanks to lady Tsunade." She said turning to smile at the man before giving him a hug. "If it's alright with you, it would please me greatly if we could take a walk around the village before the sun rises fully."

Hiashi nodded and the two began getting dressed.

 _Five minutes later_

The two walked through the streets with Hiaku on Hiashi's arm and he could see why she wanted to go for a walk at this time. Due to it being so early hardly anyone else seemed to be out and about, the subtle glow of the morning sun peeking over the horizon was really something beautiful. It gave one a greater appreciation of the simpler things in life.

Hiaku paused for a moment and Hiashi stopped to look at his wife curiously.

"Is that Neji Kun?" She said pointing a finger to a boy who was walking a short distance ahead of them.

Surely enough upon noticing them boy looked surprised and began walking towards them intent on showing his respect as was customary.

"Lady Hiaku, Lord Hiashi." He said about to slip into a respectful bow only to find himself stopped by the raising of Hiashi's hand.

"From now on Neji I'd prefer you didn't bow to me, you are my nephew after all."

Neji's face registered surprise at this but he slowly nodded. "As you wish Hiashi sama."

"Please, feel free to call me uncle."

Neji once again found himself surprised by his uncles words and easy demeanor. _"What's he playing at?"_

The Hyuga simply nodded feeling as if using that word to address this man might possibly make him vomit in repulsion.

"It's nice to see you again Neji kun." Hiaku said with a friendly smile Neji returned.

"And you as well Lady Hiaku, it would seem as if your condition has improved."

"Thanks to your fathers assistance in helping Hiashi find Lady Tsunade. Next time you see him do tell him to come have tea with me in the gardens sometime as I'd like to properly thank him."

"Will do." Neji smiled glad this woman who was born into the main branch never seemed to look down on branch members, it gave him hope for the Hyuga.

"If you don't mind me asking what has you up so early nephew?" Hiashi said surprising the boy again with his friendly tone.

"I-I'm heading to the Monogahi compond for special training with Nubutaka sensei."

"Oh?" Hiaku said raising an eyebrow. "What kind of special training?"

Neji rubbed the back of his head a bit nervous under their curious stares. "It's kind of a secret." He said with a sheepish smile.

"Secrets are no fun Neji kun!" Hiaku teased with a grin.

Hiashi chuckled at his wife. "Let him be dear, knowing Neji I'm sure it's something that'll likely one day amaze the elders as his taijustu prowress already seems to be doing." Hiashi smiled causing Neji to shift in his place a bit feeling weird about the complement.

"I suppose you're right dear, well we don't want to hold you up Neji. Good luck in your training and remember not to be a stranger, do come over for tea sometime I'm sure Hinata would love to finally meet her cousin." Hiaku said giving him a warm smile.

"Will do." He said returning the smile.

Hiashi nodded to Neji smiling warmly as he and Hiaku continued on their way. Neji stood in the same spot for a moment wondering why his uncle suddenly seemed so friendly before disregarding it and continuing on his way to sword practice.

 **Konoha residential district** **6:23am**

Tsunade sat on the back porch sipping on her morning glass of sake, oddly enough something about being back in the leaf village had made her a morning person.

She'd been watching the sun slowly rise more and more on the horizon till she felt someone sit down next to her and turned to find the frail girl she'd helped occasionally to play games with the other kids during the past couple of days.

She stared into the sun's presence on the horizon giving no indication that she knew Tsunade was staring at her. Oddly enough the sannin thought she saw a feeling of longing in the girls eyes, but who could long for the sun?

"Free.."

Tsunade jumped at the girls voice which she don't think she'd ever heard before. It was smooth and gentle yet somehow frail all the same sounding just as fragile as the girl who owned it.

"Uh...huh?" Tsunade said not knowing how to respond.

"Free." She said pointing to the sun and turning to acknowledge Tsunade for the first time since sitting down.

"Free and beautiful...the sun." She smiled turning back towards sunrise.

"You know you're free and beautiful too Lilly you just haven't found your wings yet." A voice said coming from inside the house.

"Sino!" The girl said turning and looking excited.

"Lilly!" The boy said swooping in to tickle the girl playfully.

Tsunade couldn't help but notice how gentle he was with her and how free Lilly looked laughing and trying to push him away in that moment. Perhaps out of this entire group these two had the strongest bond.

After he'd stopped he sat down and smirked at the girl who punched him playfully and stood to start straightening the boys unruly hair with a comb she produced from out of nowhere.

"Oh so that's why it's been like that all week! What would I do without you Lilly?" He asked causing the girls smile to turn into a grin.

Since being enrolled in the academy with two other boys at an age where most kids were graduating Jusino and the others had to undergo weekend and night classes to catch up so when they got back to the compond the others were usually sleep and they also woke to get there early before the other kids woke for home school.

Apparently no one felt their leaders absence as much as Lilly who was smiling brighter than Tsunade had thought the girl was capable of. Jusino also seemed to perk up considerably as Tsunade realized she hadn't seen him smile any the past weak till today.

It was a strange observation but the two seemed to complete each other, or they needed one another in the very least. Tsunade wondered if they were related.

"Yashio tells me you've been helping Lilly play games with the others. I want to really thank you for that, she has a hard time just sitting around and watching others play." Jusino felt the girls hands pause in his hair so he reached up to grab one of them and shot her a smile causing her to return it readopting her cheerful demeanor as she continued.

"Don't mention it kid, I'm glad to do it." Tsunade said making up her mind on helping the girl.

"I'm really glad to hear that. I'll be sure to pay you back someday!" The boy said smiling but completely serious.

Tsunade chuckled feeling like he reminded her of someone.

Lilly finished straightening his hair and moved to sit down in front of him. He pulled a brush from his pocket and began brushing her hair as he combed through it with his fingers oblivious to Tsunade watching eyes.

 _"They don't look like brother and sister but they sure act like the closest pair you'd ever see."_

"Just keep being a real friend to Naruto like you have and I'll consider us even."

Jusino smirked at her comment not pausing or wavering even slightly in his task as if he'd done it a thousand times before.

"I'm friends with Naruto because I wanna be. If I only continued to be his friend because I owed his aunt a favor I wouldn't really be able to call myself real friend would I?" He asked sparing her a curious glance.

Tsunade slowly smirked at the boys words realizing Jiriya wasn't just blowing smoke all those years ago when he said urchin street gang leaders had to be smart.

"That was a pretty intelligent observation."

"If you say so, I don't think it was anything special. Maybe it was just unexpected from a street urchin such as myself." He said with a grin.

Tsunade developed a smirk of her own finding that she liked this kid. "You're alright with me brat."

Jusino's grin widened and Lilly began chuckling at the sannin as the three sat together in the backyard watching the sun slowly ascend over the horizon.

 **Underground NEE facility** **6:34am**

Orochimaru turned around as he heard the door to the lab screech open and smiled upon noticing it was his apprentice standing inside the door way with an excited gleam in her eyes.

"Aren't we up rather early today?"

"I couldn't help it sensei! I feel like I've learned more under you in a few days than I did getting my ass handed to me by 122 in months!" She said sounding excited.

Orochimaru chuckled turning to appraise the girl after creating a clone to take his place.

"Now now Anko, what have I said about cursing at your age?"

"That it doesn't suit one so young as myself." She groaned wishing he'd stop forcing her to repeat him sometimes.

"And what is it you continue to do?"

"Curse..come on sensei! Can we get to the training already!? I didn't wake up this early to be lectured on what's appropriate." Anko said upset at how her sensei always seemed to enjoy toying with her.

"Now now, settle down my little willow. We will begin soon just allow me to wash my hands first." The Sannin said walking towards the sink in the room as Anko's excited grin returned full force.

 **Land of Rain** **6:47am**

Kakashi having just arrived at the land of rain walked through a small poverty stricken village who's citzens looked like they'd never seen better times.

Intent on finding the best source of rumors he could he ended up making his way to a bar he'd heard of from a group of passing sell swords who were talking among one another oblivious to the man's presence.

Upon reaching the bar Kakashi adopted a seat in the back and ordered some fish and a few drinks intent on blending in with it's usual occupants and listening out for any information he could find that might help him in his quest to find out what'd happened to Hanzo.

 **Near the Konoha's East gate** **6:50am**

Yukushia sat in the forest by the East gate of Konoha a short distance away from the compond drawing in energy from the slow trickle of sunlight coming from the horizon to the east and spreading yang chakra to the plant life around her just observing the forest.

It was similar to how she communicated with nature, she gave chakra to the tree's and plant life all around her and in return they allowed her to feel the world how they did, in essence she wasn't herself at the moment but she was the part of the forest her chakra was currently touching.

She'd been meditating in this trance like state in a calm silence until she heard and felt one of the tree's in the area immediatly cut off from the earth.

She snapped back into reality with a painful thud as the sudden death of the tree caused a physical pain in her chest and a bubbling fury inside her heart. She stood up with a vicous scowl and made a beeline towards where she'd felt the poor tree have it's life ended falling into the clearing a short distance away not even a full minute afterwards.

In the clearing there was a familiar man clad in a green track suit kicking another tree and uprooting it from the earth effectively ending it's life.

"Stop!!!" Yukushia said glaring at the man who turned and raised an eyebrow at her furious expression.

"I'm sorry, I thought I was a far enough distance away from your compond not to wake anyone up but I will move further into the forest if I'm bothering you." Gai said wondering why the woman was looking at him with a near murderous gleam in her eyes.

"How could you be so heartless? Tree's are living organisms same as we are!"

Gai frowned slightly at being called heartless by the woman he'd seen torture a man not too long ago.

"I hardly think knocking over a piece of growing wood constitutes me as one who is heartless. I've always trained this way, the land of fire is virtually just one big forest, the tree's will always grow back." The man defended.

"If I was to use that sort of logic on humans I could say the world is virtually a breeding ground for humanity and our kind will always repopulate."

"I hardly see how one can compare a human life to that of a tree." Gai said still defending his actions as he saw no wrong in what he was doing.

"I hardly see how one can be so apathetic to other life forms! You're mindset concerning tree's is comparable to the mindset of a cereal killer concerning humans!"

Gai frowned fully at the kunochi's statement upset at what she was insinuating.

"I hardly think someone who's tortured a person is in any position to stand and compare me to a psychopath because I've knocked down a few tree's. At least killing a person is more merciful than continuesly inflicting pain on them till you get what you want."

Yukushia's eyes widened at his statement and she felt the tears of sadness she'd been holding in after the death of the tree reinforced by tears of anger and guilt as they finally fell.

Growling at the man she pulled out her katana and Gai readied himself adopting a defensive stance ready for the furious kunochi.

She placed her free hand to the ground pumping a large amount of chakra into the area and suddenly it seemed like the entire forest began to attack Gai.

He found himself dodging vine after vine, root after root, branch after branch and the Monogahi woman's katana swings in which she definitely appeared to be holding nothing back.

After a number of minutes had passed Gai started feeling his fustration get the better of him and disappeared and reappeared in front of Yukushia in the blink of an eye as she found herself amazed someone could move so fast without the flicker.

He went to plant a fist in the kunochi's stomach in the hopes of disabling her but found himself pushed back by a strong gust of wind that came from her mouth.

"Don't think just because your speeds impressive you'll take me out that easily." She said still sounding angry enough to keep fighting.

Gai stood up straight readopting his defensive stance and developing a slight smirk.

 _"If it's a battle you want it's a battle you'll get."_

Yukushia's roots charged the man moving faster than they'd been going previously. Gai decided to see what she actually had in the way of skills that didn't involve using plant life as a main offensive and hoped on top of the largest root speeding towards the kunochi and dodging the others.

Yukushia could see what he was doing and placed her sword back inside it's sheath no longer wanting to severely wound the man but more than in the mood for a fight.

She began forming a set of hands seals known only to few and placed her hands on the ground, pieces of earth rose around her forearms and legs creating a thin but solid layer of earth.

Gai leapt off the root and flipped in the air spinning and bringing his foot around towards all the roots that we're chasing him. "Leaf whirlwind!"

The roots he'd connected with were all pulverized into nothingness and before he'd known what exactly was going on Yukushia was upon him swinging in a flurry of strong but precise punches he wouldn't have expected from a shinobi such as herself.

Gai decided to see what she had and stayed on the defensive merly dodging and blocking the punches she threw.

Yukushia got further aggravated seeing he was hardly taking her seriously. She leapt into the air twirling as she fell intent on breaking his guard. Gai saw the power she intended for her next attack and moved to dodge grateful that he did as she made a small crater in the ground where her fist connected.

Snarling she rushed him again throwing a left handed punch when she got in his range, but he quickly pushed the hand to the side.

Before she'd fully pulled her arm back her right was shooting out in a fast palm strike which guy soundly blocked only for her left to rise in another palm strike only to be blocked yet again. She stepped further into his guard using the contact to attempt to move her left leg behind his right and sweep it out from under him. Gai saw it coming and stepped over her foot and she moved in with her left attempting a swipe at his left leg which he easily stepped over.

She continued making strikes at him with the palm of her hands staying inside the man's guard and attempting to use every opportunity she could create to pull the man's legs out from under him but his reflexes were just too good.

Upon noticing Gai's smirk her frown hardened and quickly she twisted around and thrust her arms forward attempting to land a blow to his chest, Gai easily side stepped her attack but found himself surprised as it produced a strong wind which pushed him back slightly. Before he'd had a chance to right himself she was upon him yet again throwing more palm strikes but adding a punch and a kick into the mix here and there.

Gai retaliated and started launching his own attacks in response but much to his surprise the kunochi didn't seem to have that much of a hard time keeping up with attacks he launched at a pace similar to hers and even when he'd increased his speed she still kept up easily, her reflexes possibly being fuled by anger.

After a while of the two trading blows but none ever connecting directly with one another Gai found he wasn't even watching the kunochi's movements anymore he was watching her eyes as was she doing with him.

She looked irritated, but maybe confused he thought? She looked at Gai and wondered why he looked so curious and why he wasn't even taking her slightly serious as he'd been fighting much harder when battling with her plants.

Their blows danced against each other's guards the two becoming familiar with one another's movements in a way that one could say was intimate, niether of them had broken eye contact for the past couple of minutes of their fight. Gai attempting to read the kunochi while Yukushia attempted to understand the jounin.

Yukushia again felt her anger peek at having her opponent easily toy with her and being unable to find an answer as to why within the man's eyes.

Gai saw the flash of fustration and braced himself knowing something would definitely come of it.

Sure enough she broke away from their dance and summoned a large number of roots from the ground, Gai seeing this could be trouble opened the first two gates and began running towards her smashing all roots blocking his path to the Monogahi woman.

Yukushia unsheathed her kunai and began forming one handed seals and Gai increased his speed not wanting to fight any longer for the first time in his life. He reached the woman and put a hand over hers before she could finish her justu seals and her frown of irritation became a frown of confusion as she looked up at him questioningly.

"I'd rather we not fight anymore." He said surprising her.

Her look of surprise quickly morphed back into a frown. "What am I too weak for you tree killer?"

Gai frowned at her comment wondering just how much nature meant to this woman.

"Actually you're more than strong enough to give me a good battle, but you're fighting out of anger and fustration right now which I can tell you aren't used to doing."

"Shut up! You don't know anything!" Yukushia said trying to pull her hand from the man's grasp.

"I'm sorry I killed those tree's." Gai apologized still not seeing how he was wrong but more than capable of seeing how much it meant to her.

She froze in her efforts to pull away and Gai thought he saw tears in her eyes. The girl slumped and began to drop towards the ground but Gai caught her and pulled her back up holding on because all her weight was slack as if she given up on standing.

"I'm sorry I attacked you without really thinking and also for saying such rude things in my anger." She apologized wondering how the man could be so caring after the actions she'd just undertook.

"Don't mention it. I'm sorry for the rude words I let slip without thought as well, but doing wrong by your friends and having the wisdom to see the faults in your actions is a part of life I suppose. At the end of the day having the consideration and the courage to take responsibility for our actions is surely what makes us decent people!" Gai said causing Yukushia to chuckle as he adopted his usual enthusiasm.

The Monogahi woman stood and pulled back from Gai grateful he'd caught her instead of just letting her collapse and fall towards the ground.

"Why weren't you taking me seriously?"

Gai raised an eyebrow at her question and chuckled a bit before answering. "You were fighting in anger rather than fighting strategically like you do usually, also when you engaged me in taijustu I could have ended up seriously hurting you if I'd have stopped holding back."

"No offense to your skills but taijustu is all I really know and I've honed mine to the point of being able to punch through tree's and even bolders. I'd have rather not hit you with one of my full strength punches."

Yukushia nodded in understanding developing an appreciation for the man's considerate nature. Especially considering her taijustu was decent but was really nothing special, Amaris and Nubutaka we're both way better than her in that department.

"I'm glad you took my well being into account." She said surprising Gai with her statement.

"Well of course, we are comrades after all. Plus I'd have felt guilty about it later if I hurt such a beautiful woman."

Yukushia blushed and looked away from Gai's charming smile.

"Would you like to go get breakfast with me by any chance?"

Gai's eyes lit up at her question. "First you treat me to a rather interesting battle and now you're asking me out to eat? You aren't trying to seduce me are you, because I think you'll have to buy me dinner in place of breakfast." Gai said grinning at her playfully.

Yukushia chuckled at the man's joke.

"Oh don't worry about that, if I were to set my mind to seducing you I'd have no need of food in the matter."

"Oohh! Your confidence makes me want to believe that statement, but surely you don't think Might Gai is an easy lay." Gai said smirking and pointing a thumb to his chest.

"I never said that, I just said seducing you would require no food on my part. Possibly just a nice taijustu battle in a secluded area, a little bit of effort, a little bit of clothing, and maybe a lot of sweat." Yukushia smirked running a finger along his vest.

Gai's face lit up and she covered her mouth attempting to stiffle her laughter.

"Well come on then Might Gai the none easy lay. Might as well get breakfast out of the way before dinner and desert am I right?"

Gai's nose started bleeding slightly at her suggestive grin and he simply nodded as the two began making their way towards the villages East gate.

 **Monogahi training room** **7:01am**

Nubutaka stood to the side watching Neji learn different sword forms from his shadow clone as he continuesly wondering why something felt off.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Hatsue looking at him with concern.

"Is something bothering you Nubu?"

He shook his head no not to fond of the way he'd just liked to her but not wanting to trouble her with a bad feeling in his gut that could very well turn out to mean nothing at the end of the day.

"It's alright it's nothing really, just not feeling so good today." He said not exactly lying.

"Well okay, let me know if it gets any worse or you want to talk about it."

He nodded and sent her a smile of gratitude before turning back towards Neji to observe the slow markers of progress the boy was making quickly over the course of two days.

"Are you teaching Neji how to use a sword?" Hatsue asked finding the thought of a Hyuga that used any weapon other than a kunai to be weird.

"Yup, but it's kind of a secret for now which is why we're doing it inside."

"Well if it's Neji he's sure to pick up on it fast." Hatsue smiled before adopting a thoughtful expression. "Isn't he supposed to be going to the academy today though?"

"He is but being head of the academy curriculum basically makes me the academies manager and I can always give him make up work" Nubutaka said with a grin.

"Isn't that breaking the rules?" Hatsue said raising an eyebrow.

"Since when have shinobi had a rule book? Besides, I'm sure the third Hokage nor any of the other teachers will mind as long as I'm teaching him something beneficial." Nubutaka smirked.

Hatsue shrugged smiling lightly figuring he had a point.

"So I take it Imari Inoha and Izumi won't be here until later?"

"Yup, but at least Naruto will be here sooner. Honestly I get bored on the days when their at the academy and Shisui Hamura and Itachi are away on missions. One of my clones thought maybe I should become a teacher."

"Actually that sounds like it might really suit you."

"Yeaa maybe...I just never saw my self teaching a bunch of booger pickers. It's a weird image honestly, maybe I can do something like special instruction at the academy instead of traditional teaching?"

Hatsue laughed at his booger pickers comment. "You're the curriculum designer Mr academy manger. I'm sure you could get the Hokage and the council to agree to something like that."

"I never actually thought of it till now but that's something I'll have to consider." Nubutaka said with a smile. "Wouldn't want my Tsue Chan to get jealous though." He said as his thoughtful smile became a teasing one.

Hatsue smirked. "Don't worry Nubu kun, a class or two of booger pickers are the least of my worries."

 **Konoha residential district** **7:05am**

Jusino had left a while ago to head to his early academy classes and Lilly's mood had visibly took a plummet at his departure. Tsunade figured he'd only woken up early to spend some time with the frail blonde girl.

The two still sat out back and Lilly looked straight forward, the cheerful smile she displayed minutes ago now replaced with the usual look of melancholy Tsunade was used to seeing on her face.

Shizune would be waking the rest of the kids soon for school but Lilly wouldn't be accompanying them, Tsunade had already made up her mind. She would teach the girl how to enchance her strength and durability with chakra, considering she was very young it'd likely be very hard for the girl to learn this at such a tender age but sitting around looking somewhat depressed all day wasn't doing anything for her anyway.

"Hey Lilly." Tsunade called getting the girls attention.

"I'm going to start teaching something that will help you walk and run like everybody else does, but it'll be really hard to learn and it'll take years. If you don't give up though I'm sure you'll learn it eventually." Tsunade said analyzing the girl as her face went from curious to shocked to determined.

"Teach me."

 **Six** **hours later: Land of Wind** **1:05pm**

The Carvan continued on through the sun scorched land as Shisui and Itachi stood to the left and right while Shikono stood guarding the front and a clone of his in the rear.

Hamura lay inside one of the stage couches being tended to by the carvans medical expert who lucky enough for them felt obligated to see to Hamura till they could get his wounds properly treated once they reached Suna.

If Shikaku had known his genin would wind up sustaining injures like this he would have finished his group sooner. He thought they'd be able to easily catch their enemies off guard and finish them, but apparently he had placed too much faith in his talented little genin. They were still genin after all, even if their enemies hadn't been taking them seriously it was still a miracle they'd managed to hold them off so long.

Shikono sighed hoping they'd reach the village soon with no more ambushes from rogue nin.

 **12 Hours later Underground NEE facility 1:05am**

Orochimaru who'd finished his work for the day was cleaning his surgical instruments in the laboratory sink, when he felt the metal door behind him open and close silently.

"I must say I'm actually impressed someone other than Danzo managed to pull of such a feat. That door is quite heavy and has this annoying little screech when in motion." The man said not bothering to turn around.

His visitor said nothing, just stood in front of the rooms only door observing him questioningly.

"What can I do for you, Uchiha san." Orochimaru said recognizing the cold yet fiery presence the moment the man stepped into the room.

"You can tell me exactly what Danzo has you down here working on and what's in it for you for starters."

The Sannin smirked at the way he made his suggestion sound more like a command than a normal sentence.

"Do tell me, how is your oldest son doing these days? Quite the interesting child he was when we meant." The Sannin said with an audible grin in his voice. "What did he go by...Itachi was it, what about little Sasuke? I wonder if he'll grow up to be reserved and highly empathetic like his brother, or more of a strategic killing machine such as yourself. What do you think Uchiha San?"

Fugaku frowned at the snakes familiarity with his son's as well as his joking tone.

"Do tell me have you discovered the secret to immortality yet, or is it safe for me to assume I can kill you now and drag your body before the Hokage?" Fugaku replied letting the snake know he would not be intimidated by his knowledge of his family.

Orochimaru smirked at the man's comment. "That is, assuming you were actually capable of killing me, and who knows. Perhaps I did perhaps I did not, I'll leave that up for your imagination." The man said still washing his surgical instruments.

"Do tell me Sannin, how's that memory of your parents fairing inside that deranged head of yours? Are you still searching for immortality because you're still broken up about their sudden death and in a way you think achieving this goal will redeem them in some way? Or by chance is your reasoning different now, perhaps a bit more frivilous? Something to delude you into thinking the reason for your betrayal of the village is about more than just the deaths of your parents."

Orochimaru turned to fix Fugaku with a murderous glare as the temperature in the room dropped dramatically, furious yellow eyes meeting with calm calculating crimson.

"I see no reason to explain myself to you Fugaku, but if you must know this was never about them." The snake hissed glaring a moment longer before turning back to what he was doing.

"Their deaths opened my eyes to the pointlessness of living a life that will inevitably come to an end."

"The life span of a human is fair too short, and at the end of the day when one dies the accumulation of all they've done or accomplished dies with them. In the end all they've really done is pass time and all their accomplishments just as pointless as their existence."

"My search for immortality is a search for a life that can be truly fufiling. One where I'm free to accomplish all this it is I seek to accomplish, to see all that I wish to see, to gain anything that I could ever desire, and to learn all that there is under the sun. I couldn't care less about redeemtion for two dead fools who both lived meaningless lives."

"However their sacrifice will not be wasted for it helped me to see all that I could not and possibly wouldn't have had they never perished."

Fugaku scoffed. "All your reasoning sounds pretty much like reasons why none psychopathic people have children. To accomplish all that we wish we could have, to carry the knowledge that we pass on that has been passed on to us by those who came before. Living an endless life where the entire world changes and people are constantly aging and dying around you seems like a meanless existence to me. Once you've learned all that there is and accomplished all that you wish there will be nothing left for you."

Orochimaru smirked at the man. "I didn't expect one such as yourself to understand my goals anyway and I was right in my assumption that you would not. However what you said about children does hold some truth to it but I find myself too busy to indulge in such things as procreation with another." The man said developing a thoughtful expression.

"But please Uchiha San, enough idle chatter. I know you haven't come here to hold a meaningless conversation with me." The snake said turning off the sink and finally turning around.

"What is it Danzo has you down here working on and what's in it for you?" Fugaku questioned getting straight back to the point.

Orochimaru brought a hand up to rest underneath his chin.

"Since I find it likely you'll keep this information to yourself seeing as you aren't trusted by the elders I will tell you half of what it is you wish to know under one condition."

"And what might that be?" Fugaku asked expecting it to be something outrageous.

"You will tell no one what you know no matter how tempted you might be to spill the beans. At least not until I'm finished here, I still have interest to protect in this project but once I'm gone I really wouldn't mind the whistle being blown on Danzo." Orochimaru said smirking at the thought.

"I agree." Fugaku said completely willing to break those terms if he had to.

"Well then I suppose I should start with explaining what Danzo originally requested of me but considering your an Uchiha I'd rather not."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Fugaku asked wondering what his clan had to do with this.

"Oh nothing you should worry your head over. Do you see this jar?" The sannin asked picking up a jar full of liquid and a number of floating objects inside it. "Take a close look at it Uchiha san." The man said with a mirthful grin.

Fugaku took a step closer to the man and felt a chill go down his spin when he saw many sharingan floating inside.

Orochimaru quickly found himself slammed against the wall behind him but luckily had the foresight to tighten his grip on the jar.

"Where the hell did you get those eyes?" Fugaku growled causing Orochimaru's grin to transform into a jovial smirk.

"Now now Uchiha San, that's no way to treat one so kind as to share their secrets with you."

"Answer me!" The man said as the three tomoe in his eyes grew from the ends touching the edges of his irises forming a reverse whirlpool pattern. A small black circle appearing around his pupil completing the shift.

"How marvellous! To think a welder of the mangekeyo sharingan has existed within Konoha all this time! Surely the council aren't aware of those eyes of yours or th-"

Fugaku pulled the man's head back and slammed him into the wall getting feed up with his games.

"You still haven't answered my question." He growled as his killing intent began envelope the room.

Orochimaru didn't even flinch or utter a single sound of pain at being handled so roughly. He simply narrowed his eyes and frowned at the man before dissolving into a pool of mud on the floor.

"My my, I do hope Danzo doesn't expect me to clean that up." A voice said from behind Fugaku causing him to whirl around and come face to face with a smiling Orochimaru gingerly placing the jar his clone was in possession of back on the self.

"You'd better start talking now snake, my patience is wearing thin."

Orochimaru waggled his finger and tsked at Fugaku reproachfully like a parent correcting a child.

"Your patience eh?" A strong wind picked up around Orochimaru as he released his chakra.

"I'm not sure who exactly you believe yourself to be dealing with but it's my patience you should be concerned with." Orochimaru said letting his chakra rest least he destroy the lab and endanger all that he'd accomplished so far.

"Those eyes aren't from your clan. I was able to replicate them using Monogahi DNA, and before you ask what I plan to do with them they aren't for me so I am not at liberty to spill the beans on that little secret."

Fugaku stepped forward to stand a short distance away from the snake completely unintimidated by his display of power.

"And just where did you get Monogahi DNA and what exactly are you planning to do with it?"

Orochimaru's smirk returned as he began wondering exactly how much he should share with the man.

"The real question Uchiha San, is what exactly I'm not planning to do with it."

 **Land of Wind 3:05am**

After undergoing a short security inspection at the gate the carvan finally made it's way to the business district of Suna where it's leader thanked Shikono kindly for his service.

Upon arriving at the gates of the village the jounin was quick to request medical assistance for his genin, telling Shisui and Itachi to accompany Hamura to go see a healer as they were both pretty banged up too and even if this was an allied village one could never be too careful.

Thanking the carvans medical expert for his help he began making his way to the villages prision intent on finding out just who the three rogue sand nin he'd brought in we're and if they'd been lying when they said they belonged to a larger gang of rogue nin who made a living off praying on the carvans and the travellers that passed through the land of wind.

 **Told you guys that chapter would be kind of boring I did my best to make it entertaining though but it's really just a series of events adding up to the build up of the story and later events that'll take place. We've got a short time skip coming up next chapter where Hiruzen's meeting with the Raikage will take place and we'll catch up on the events of this chapter and what's been going on as time went by then after that'll be another time skip.**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter thanks for reading.**

 ** _Dialogue_**

 **Kasuf:** It was kind of boring but I liked that scene with Orochimaru and Fugaku although it could've used more tension.

 **Shy:** I'm still new to this writing thing I'll get better with time...I hope.

 **Al Kabir:** I think you're doing pretty great.

 **Kasuf:** OMG here we go with the ass kissing again.

 **Al Kabir:** _

 **Shy:** Wait! Before you guys start fighting I need more feed back!

 **Al Kabir:** I think it was pretty cool honestly. I get that it's just meant to lead up to a time skip cause that's how it felt, but I really liked the fight in the beginning. I thought Hamura was going to die at the end.

 **Kasuf:** You can't just kill one of the main characters idiot.

 **Al Kabir:** Yes you can...I thought you said Attack on Titan was your favorite anime?

 **Kasuf:** Eren was only dead for like four episodes, I meant permanently. Naruto isn't like DBZ where a character dies and it's like, hey no biggie! We'll just revive them using the dragon balls!

 **Al Kabir:** It's a fanfic though so you never know. Khajul could write an ass pull like that in if she really wanted to.

 **Shy:** Yea, somehow I doubt myself ever doing something like that though considering this isn't dragonball nor is it a crossover fic.

 **Al Kabir:** But it's not too late if you want it to be.

 **Shy:** Oh my gosh Kabir will you stop fan girling over Dragonball already, this fic has nothing to do with Goku and the family.

 **Al Kabir:** But it cou-

 **Shy:** No.

 **Al Kabir:** Yes.

 **Kasuf:** No.

 **Al Kabir:** Maybe.

 **Shy:** NO.

 **Al Kabir:** YE-

 **Shy/Kasuf:** SHUT UP KABIR!!!

 **Al Kabir:** Jerks.


	13. Chapter 13

**Hope you all are having a wonderful day! I'll be raising the rating of this fic to M due to the cursing and suggestive adult themes. (I should've done that chapters ago) There will be no lemons** **. Sexual relations between certain characters will be implied but I'll leave the imagery up to the readers imagination.**

 _A swing and a miss_

 **Two months later** **-Unmarked Territory**

Besides the constant drum of rain against the barren landscape all was quiet as two large groups of Shinobi stood in the clearing headed by their leaders who both gazed at one another almost challengingly as if sizing up a potiental enemy.

They both came to a stop a short distance away from one another and the Raikage turned his eyes away from the third Hokage to survey the rest of the leaf shinobi in the clearing.

His eyes immediately fell upon two individuals standing to the right of Hiruzen that any shinobi with the slightest bit of knowledge of shinobi history would have been hard pressed to overlook.

Standing to the immediate right of Hiruzen Sarutobi the man hailed to be the worlds second God of shinobi was none other than the Legendary Jiriya of the Sannin, wearing what looked to be old leaf village shinobi war armor. To the right of him stood Tsunade Senju the world famous slug princess, hailed world wide as the strongest kunochi to ever dawn a headband and the most prominent medical ninja to ever live.

To the man's left stood Shikaku Nara, known for his unmatched intelligence and godly battlefield tactics. To the left of him stood an Anbu with spiked silver hair that somehow still managed to stand up in the rain. Aye knew this man to be Kakashi Hatake Konoha's copy nin. While he didn't consider him to be much of a threat he was still a wild card and a shinobi one would best be wary of, behind him stood three more anbu.

To the right of Hatake stood a man with stark white hair and fair skin who Aye didn't recognize, but what stood out the most about him was the diamond crest on the right of his jacket with three blood drops in the center. Aye had heard the rumors of the Monogahi clan resurfacing and joining the hidden leaf. It now became apparent that this was some kind of a ruse or the rumors weren't that far from the truth.

Behind the man stood four other shinobi bearing the same Symbol and behind Hiruzen stood two middle aged Hyuga men, one of whome the Raikage knew to be Hiashi Hyuga. The man this meeting was about. The other man although identical to the first was unknown to the Raikage and therefore held little importance.

Aye knew the two figures of the Sannin to be something of a threat or a warning to him and his party and the same likely went for the supposed Monogahi.

Hiruzen like Aye was observing the shinobi party across from them having already taken notice of Aye who was indistinguishable from the rest considering his large stature and the Kumogakure Raikage hat he wore. To his right was the famous Killer Bee, Kumo's eight tails Jinchuriki and the man who was in some circles considered to be the shinobi worlds best swordsman. Beside him stood Yugito Nii, Kumo's two tails Jinchuriki and master of her own exploding tiger taijustu style which was known to be quite ferocious and deadly. Beside her stood around six or seven other elite cloud shinobi, some of whom the Hokage could say he recognized and some of whom he could say he didn't.

To the Raikage's left stood the man's newly appointed advisor Darui, wielder of the rare black lightning. The man was known to have an intelligence seemingly on par with that of a Nara's and was an elite shinobi most would claim to be in a league all his own.

To the right of the man stood a woman with white hair and dark greyish eyes wearing the uniform of an anbu without the mask. A group of ten anbu stood around the Raikage and his party. A young male blonde who was known to be an exceptional sensory nin stood behind the Raikage facing the Sannin with his eyes closed, no doubt seeing if the two happened to be the real deal or were just a trick of some kind.

After a moment the man turned to the Raikage and whispered something in his ear causing the man to nod.

"Hokage dono." Aye greeted cutting through the tension after the groups both finished their individual observations as well as size ups.

"Raikage sama." Hiruzen called causing Aye to frown as he knew the man didn't consider him a superior in any form.

He was simply calling attention to how Kumo had been making demand after demand of the leaf village as if in the position of a superior addressing someone below them. He was also calling attention to his seniority as a Kage and Konoha's seniority as a hidden village.

The Raikage grunted in reply before turning and glancing curiously at the Sannin.

"So nice to see you roled out the welcome mat for us Hokage, it's surprising you brought such an envoy with you for a peaceful negotiation. It's also surprising that the Sannin have returned into the service of the hidden leaf village." Aye said gruffly none too pleased.

"While I'm sure my students would have appreciated more vacation time than I could afford them, sadly I was in no position to have them sherk their duties to the village any longer. But I must say your party doesn't seem to be lacking in man power either considering you outnumber us by more than five shinobi. Do tell me Raikage sama...what exactly are eight anbu as well as a group of your most talented shinobi needed for considering this is a peaceful negotiation?"

Aye frowned at the man's continuous use of the sama honorific. Only a man such as Hiruzen Sarutobi could take a term of respect and insult you with it.

"Cut the crap Hokage, we're both equals here!" Aye shouted already feed up with what the man man was doing.

Hiruzen merly smirked giving no indication to suggest he'd heard the Raikage's demand and would be taking it into consideration.

Aye glared angry at the Hokages smug expression but logically knew there was nothing he could do about it.

"You had your men launch mock raids on three of our civilian villages." Aye said letting the comment hang in the air for a moment before continuing.

"If you're men had hit a single village more, we would have already retaliated against the leaf village and the land of fire with extreme prejudice!" The Raikage boomed letting it be known the land of lightning would not be tolerating such things.

"And why is it you'd see fit to repay a semi violent act of warning with a highly violent act of war?" Hiruzen asked unsurprised by Aye's comment.

The Raikage growled at the question and instead of replying he turned his attention to the shinobi wearing Monogahi emblems and pointed a finger.

"Explain them to me first Hokage, and then maybe I will answer your question."

Hiruzen turned his head slightly figuring a question revolving around the five elite most members of the clan would come eventually.

"Those five are the Monogahi's best who I requested to accompany me here as a short of..insurance I should say."

Aye scoffed at the man's statement looking to Nubutaka and turning his nose up before turning back to the Hokage.

"Do you really think I will be intimidated by Konoha's shameful attempt to claim to have made allies with a clan long dead?"

Hiruzen smirked at his words turning to Nubutaka who seemed to be holding back a chuckle at the man's comment.

"I assure you, the shinobi you see before you are the real deal. Konoha would never resort to such a shameful act as faking an incident to have something go in our favor." The Hokage said referencing Kumo's underhanded actions which lead to the situation they were in now.

If the Raikage noticed he chose not to acknowledge the truthful accusation Hiruzen just slide into the conversation.

"Well if you claim these five to be Monogahi I'd like for a demonstration of their abilities."

Hiruzen knew the Raikage was asking for proof just as much as he was asking for information concerning what the clan was capable of as no one really knew these days.

He looked to Nubutaka giving a nod and he intern nodded to Amaris who stepped forward and unsheathed her sword before she turned to face a large boulder a short distance away.

"Storm style: Severing lazer!" The girl shouted swinging the blade in a wide arch sending a wave of energy forward which sliced clean through the rock with no visible effort and continued on a moderate distance before fading.

All inside the clearing was silent for a few moments until Aye turned to face the Hokage with a snarl of rage upon his face.

"Inpossible! Only the land of lightning has ever possessed storm style users! What kind of trickery is this?" The man shouted looking between the Hokage and the Monogahi clearly inraged.

"The Monogahi were known for their habit of taking the bloodlines and techniques of others and making them their own. Surely this cannot come as that much of a surprise?" Hiruzen said resisting the urge to smirk at the Raikage's outrage as he reasoned with him.

"All I know is if that girl can use storm style then she obviously belongs to the land of lightning! I don't know how Konoha got it's hands on one of our rare affinities, but it's obvious it doesn't belong to you!"

Nubutaka took that moment to step forward and inject himself directly into the conversation.

"With all do respect Raikage sama, Amaris is far from the only member of my clan to possess storm style, and as of two years ago the only place she's belonged to is Konoha."

Aye growled at the man leveling him with a certain amount of killing intent. "Mind your manners and speak only when you are spoken to boy."

Nubutaka didn't even flinch under the man's hard glare or his overwhelming aura he only smiled.

"Allow me another demonstration of our strength Raikage sama." Nubutaka said pulling eight kunai from his ninja pouch.

Nearly the entire Raikages party pulled out a weapon of some kind and trained them at the Monogahi man. The others who neglected to do so were holding up a hand seal of some kind, likely intent on using justu to gain an advantage should it come to a open conflict.

The leaf Shinobi weren't far from their Kumo counter parts. The only difference being unlike the Kumo delegation the leaf shinobi saw fit to take to the defense of their leader firstly, although they knew it not be needed.

Nubutaka stood in the same position kunai in hand, looking at the Raikage questioningly.

Aye returned the look completely unpurturbed by the actions of niether his nor the Hokages Shinobi wondering what this man was playing at.

"Humor me." He said turning slightly giving his shinobi the signal to back off.

The party of Konoha figuring the hostilities were temporarily quelled once more settled down backing off as well and returning to original position.

Nubutaka took that as his qeue and stood back throwing all of his kunai in the air and creating about five shadow clones per kunai.

Everyone who wasn't from Konoha's side wondered if the man simply attempted to try some foolish air attack when he raised a hand and all of the kunai stopped in the air as if held by the handle.

The Kumo residents looked on in shocked wonder knowing he had to be a magnet style user that didn't belong to the line of the Kazekage. Upon taking into consideration the leaf held two separate rare kekkei genki users under one clan name, what they said no longer seemed so far fetched.

Aye gazed at the other three and wondered what rare abilities they could possibly possess. He growled upon noticing something of a half hiden smirk threatening to break out on the Hokages face.

"Whatever made your clan decided to join sides with the leaf village?" The Raikage asked having a few more questions but deciding to ask the one he'd be the most content with an answer to.

"We honestly like everything Konoha stands for, although the villages are the same they all have different symbolism's and convictions. Konoha's spoke to us the most."

Aye crossed his arms and nodded for the man to go on curious, having never heard of something the likes of which Nubutaka was saying right now. The shinobi villages were simple shinobi villages and all they stood for in his opinion were power and order.

"Iwa stands for military strength and security, which is why they wish to prove themselves the strongest of the villages by starting conflicts. They'd more than like to potray the image of an imovable military, and their villages location inside a canyon definitely helps to give it a sense of security."

"Suna stands for perseverance in the face of all hardships, and mystery which we all can agree they do very well with. Suna has always persevered through being the weakest of the great nation's in proud stride, and they are without a doubt possibly the best hidden village outside of Taki. It takes people from Suna or one who's very familiar with the landscape of the desert to find the smaller towns and villages scattered around through the ever changing sandy wasteland. Finding Sunagakure itself is an even harder task which is why Suna's never been invaded directly and the desert people are very withdrawn and secretive."

"Kiri in a way stands for the greatest of shinobi values, mistrust of others and hidden secrets on top of naval strength. Kiri is easily the least trusting of all the other nations and the mist that surrounds their island also holds many secrets, possibly just as many as the village itself. Residents of the hidden mist village have always been lax to trust even one another. The only reason most other nations see the virtually small nation as a threat is because of it's navy and it's shinobi, who're known to hold many secrets of their own similar to the land they come from."

"Kumo stands for higher status and wealth. The land of lightning rises higher than the rest of the world due to it's high ground elevation and towering mountain peeks. Your villages high elevation allows it to produce a number of herbs and other goods not easily found any place else and thanks to the villages beautiful view of the clouds and the world below it's quite the popular tourist attraction, giving Kumo the greatest income of any of the hidden villages."

"Not only do your people benefit from this through extravagant trade deals and higher salaries and pay rates than is average in the world, but your high taxes also provides you with a high military budget. The strong military only promotes to the outside world that Kumo is solid, Kumo is wealthy, and Kumo is secure, which only leads to more tourism, more trade, higher taxes, and more money to use as the village see's fit. Thanks to where it sits in the clouds Kumo is literally able to stare down at the rest of the world below both physically and economically as the village that is the very embodiment of wealth and higher status."

Aye allowed himself a smirk at what the man said about Kumo as he'd never thought about it like that but all that he said did happen to be true.

"And Konoha?" He questioned aware that'd he'd left the leaf village for last when undoubtedly it should have been Kumo seeing as whatever Konoha stood for wasn't likely to top what Kumo did and did well.

"Konoha is the simplest in truth, it stands for strength, sacrifice and perseverance for the sake of others. The hidden leaf village was established for the very purpose of protecting others and ensuring another alternative for children in life than dying on the end of a sword a kunai or a justu one day. I guess you could say it embodies peace in a way."

"I'm honestly not that good at explaining Konoha's symbolism and it's values because their rough simplicity goes hand in hand with their complexity, but throughout it's history it's plain to see how the villages shinobi live up to those qualities. My cousin Amaris can explain how all that ties in with the will of fire if you'd like." Nubutaka said sparing a glance at the silver haired kunochi who's use of storm style previously had Aye fuming.

The Raikage frowned at his statement pertaining to the leaf village.

"So you and your clan would rather be a part of something that embodies the principles of strength and sacrifice for others rather than something that embodies wealth and higher status?" The man asked not seeing the Monogahi's logic or reasoning.

"Indeed it is that simple Raikage sama." Nubutaka answered respectfully.

"No doubt you're aware that the same principles you described to be the embodiment of what Konoha stands for are the standard principles for shinobi period? Strength and sacrifice for the sake of others." Aye questioned not really understanding the man's reasoning in his clan choosing Konoha over Kumo.

"We are very aware but Konoha is the basic building block on which all modern day villages and shinobi have established themselves and their principles on anyway. No village better upholds the principles of strength and sacrifice for others as Konoha, on a side note my clan had a very tight knit relationship with the Uzumaki anyway so besides the reasons I've stated Konoha was the obvious choice."

"What if Kumo were to offer your clan a place among our village? You would be given a compound wherever you choose. I'd even be willing to offer you an exemption from the usual taxes most villagers have to deal with and there wouldn't be anything besides usual shinobi clan duties expected of you." Aye said hoping to sway the Monogahi to his side as they were definitely a wild card he hadn't been expecting.

Not only that but the silver haired kunochi's storm style was a kekkei genki exclusive to the land of lightning, one they had never thought could fall into the hands of a village besides Kumo.

"With all due respect I will have to decline. My clan and I have already pledged our alliegence to Konoha and the Hokage." Nubutaka said somewhat surprised by the offer.

"Shame, as I'm sure Kumo could have better accommodated you and your clansmen." Aye said sparing the silver haired kunochi another glance.

 _"Or so you think."_ Nubutaka thought knowing otherwise.

 _"Why does that girl look as if she really wishes to fight me?"_ Aye said getting the feeling of a shinobi who was itching to do battle when his eyes meant hers.

He ignored it and turned back to Hiruzen and the Hyuga men behind him.

"So Hokage.. I take it you've received my follow up message responding to your refusal to hand over the murderous Hiashi Hyuga." Aye said pointing a finger towards the man he assumed to be Hiashi.

"Indeed I have...pertaining to that matter my anbu were able to find a very interesting piece of information involving this meeting." Hiruzen said nodding to one of his anbu who proceeded to bit his thumb and slam it into the ground.

The Raikages shinobi all tensed getting ready for anything as Aye stood completely still looking into the smoke cloud with an angry glare towards the ground as he had an idea of exactly what information he was referring to.

The smoke cleared and on the ground lay a heavily beaten and battered Kumo nin. One who'd mysteriously vanished during his gate guard duty over a month ago.

Hiruzen's slight smirk was gone and now on his face was the cold expression of a shinobi who was in the midst of choosing whether or not to finish his adversary.

"Much to his credit it took more than the usual amount of 'interogation' to get this man to speak." Which was saying a lot considering upon being captured by NEE opperatives he'd been interrogated in one of their facilities.

"If what he says is to be believed you intended to kill me and my escorts during this meeting if we refused to hand over Hiashi." The Hokage said in a voice that left no room for denial. He had all the proof he needed looking at the envoy Aye had gathered for their supposedly peaceful negotiations.

Much to his credit the Raikage managed to keep his face entirely neutral after the accusation, merly taking another moment to size up the shinobi standing a short distance away from them in the clearing. If not for the five Monogahi and the Sannin flanking the Hokage, Aye would've already ordered an attack but their presence had taken him completely by surprise.

All was completely silent minus the sound of the rain. A boom of lightning followed by thunder went off in the distance, temporary lighting the dark landscape. For a moment the Raikages party could see a number of kunai hanging in the air above them realizing they never been dispelled even though the man controlling him had put his hand down.

The atmosphere became even more tense as another bolt of lightning struck the ground somewhere in the distance, seemingly sparking a certain blonde haired kunochi's anger with it.

"Do you intend to answer the question today muscle head, or do we have to beat the answer out of you!?!?" Tsunade said taking a step forward only to be stopped by Jiriya who had a firm grasp on her elbow.

"I understand your anger hime but it's best if we let them sort this out first before making any unnecessary moves." He said in a low tone sparring only a couple seconds to look away from the Raikage to glance at his teammate.

Tsunade beyond fustrated after hearing it from the Kumo nin with her own ears returned the glance holding eye contact with the man for a moment eventually relienting to her teammates suggestion wondering when he'd become the more reasonable one out of the two.

"You've got five minutes to answer the old man's accusation till I decide to just crack your skull." Tsunade growled readopting her position next to Jiriya.

The Raikage knew there was no use denying the claim as it was painfully obvious, but he did wonder on the best way to handle the situation. They'd been waiting on this day for months on end and there was no way Kumo was going home empty handed. The only thing keeping him calm in this moment was the fact he knew he needed a clear head right now.

"Indeed I did, and regardless off how much better off you think you'd be in a battle right now I still intend to do so." The Raikage said raising a hand.

Knowing what was coming Nubutaka flexed a finger bringing the still floating kunai down.

Around twenty more Kumo shinobi appeared inside the small clearing but before reaching the Kumo group both opposing parties were trapped in circle of kunai with ninja wires on the ends, stretching seemingly into the air above them. Flames rushed from the wires connecting to the Kunai and trapping both parties inside four large walls of fire that reached into the sky.

Outside the fire wall a group of around fifteen Uchiha flickered behind the Kumo nin with Fugaku wicked eyes Uchiha himself standing in front with his arms crossed.

A woman with long dark hair drenched from the rain stepped forward from the group her eyes aglow with the same crimson as theirs.

"My name is Hatsue Uchiha and I've been told it'd be best if we keep any conflict from breaking out till the negotiations are finished."

"I'd like to ask you all to hold off on any hostile or sudden movements. My clansmen are more than ready for a battle but we'd prefer to settle this dispute without the lose of any life if at all possible." The Uchiha woman said sparing a glance at the large wire trap she and Nubutaka had developed and sprung with the help of the other Uchiha.

"Who the hell do you th-" The Kumo nin who looked more than ready to brawl with the enemy shinobi was silenced with a gesture from his commander.

"We will wait for a moment but at the first sounds of conflict within that thing, sharingan or not you Uchiha die." Hatsue nodded wondering if the man was aware that Fugaku by himself was likely enough to take down more than half their group. She disregarded the thought and began moving her fingers subtly laying the ground work for the next trap.

Back inside the flaming ball tensions had risen even faster than the heat. The rain continued downward through the large hole in the top of the trap luckily not being strong enough to dose the fires on the chakra wires. The roar of flames and the constant fall of rain was the only sound heard inside the fiery prison as both parties waited with baited breath for the leaders on either side to speak.

"I must say Hokage." Aye said sparing a glance to the thousands of strings of conductive ninja wire alight with the flames that'd kept his back up from joining them. "This trap is quite impressive, I was curious as to why the Monogahi never dispelled or let the kunai fall. How exactly did you set up something this elaborate?"

The Hokage nodded towards Nubutaka giving him the honor of answering the man's question.

"Two manget style using shadow clones, two shadow clones of an Uchiha who is very proficient with ninja wiring techniques, a Yamanaka and his shadow clone, and a lot of Uchiha." He answered proudly wondering how they were holding up outside.

Aye wondered if the Uchiha in mention were responsible for the lack of sound outside. The Uchiha were the only clan capable of ending a battle in seconds with their genjustu after all weren't they.

He frowned upon realizing things weren't going Kumo's way at all. If he were the Hokage he'd have ordered himself killed for such treachery. Aye decided now was the time, kill or be killed as battle was inevitable at this point.

"I know what you're thinking Aye, and no I don't want to kill you, although I can't say the same for my students." Aye took a moment to look at both Sannin finding they were directing very murderous glares his way. "I simply want two written apologise from you and your council, one for me and Konoha and one for Hiashi Hyuga."

Aye's face morphed into an indignant scowl at the man's demand. "Not a chance Hokage! Kumo has done no wrong and I came here for the purpose of collecting the Hyuga and I do not intend to leave empty handed."

Hiruzen frowned at the man. "Surely you're aware even if we had agreed to your demands we would have ensured Hiashi's death. He would've been of no use to your village in the long run anyway."

Aye growled before turning back to his men unwilling to submit regardless of whether the tables turned on them or not. "We will kill the Hokage and his escorts here, I want at least one of those Hyuga alive and capable of staying so until we return to Kumo. If you can render any of the Monogahi incapable of fighting rather than killing them all the better. Most of all I want the storm style girl dead or incapable of battle by the time this is over, we will not allow storm style that powerful to fall to our enemies."

Hiruzen riped off his Hokage robs revealing his well cared for shinobi armor underneath. "Don't do this Aye, you've started this conflict and now you seek to only sheed blood needlessly over a matter which could be easily resolved." The Hokage said as the leaf shinobi all took up their battle stances.

Aye only scoffed ripping off his robe as well, his lightning cloak flaring to life as his shinobi all got into positions of battle waiting for their leaders signal.

"Unless you're willing to give me the Hyuga and that storm style user, we have nothing more to discuss Hokage!" Aye said disappearing and reappearing in front of the Hokage with a hand reared back to strike. Such was the signal and all the other Kumo shinobi moved to attack the Konoha delegation.

He found his attack blocked by two hands covered in lightning. One of them was a highly condensed form of controlled lightning that gave off the chirping of birds. The other was a condensed form of erratic lightning that was mixed with possibly one or two elements, this one went all the way up the users arm. Aye found himself shocked when he looked up and saw the storm style kunochi wreath in a cloak of storm similar to his lightning cloak but less condensed and with more elements. The other hand belonged to none other than Kakashi Hatake Konoha's copy nin who stared at him coldly with one eye of onyx and the other crimson.

"The Hokage gave you fair warning so don't cry after we've-"

"Wiped the floor with you and your little delegation!" Amaris finished for Kakashi jumping to launch a swift heel at the Raikage.

A short distance away Killer Bee was engaged with the Monogahi clan head attacking the man with a flurry of upredictable attacks Nubutaka was hard pressed to dodge and block with just two kunai. Bee wondered why the man wasn't attempting to draw the katana on his back and why this battle for his life seemed to be so much fun for him as the Monogahi hadn't stopped smiling since he'd launched himself at him.

Tsunade and Jiriya were applying pressure to Darui and the dark eyed woman who both had four anbu assisting them and were still hard pressed to keep up with the Sannin.

Tsunade charged Darui once again pulling her arm back and thrusting it forward only to have it connect with thin air as the man flickered a good distance away.

"Lightning style: Black panther!" He shouted sending a human sized panther like construct created entirely by lightning at the Sannin.

Tsunade punched the thing into nothingness as she'd done the previous two but unlike the others that one had only been meant to serve as a distraction.

"Storm style: Lazer circus." Darui said holding his hands up and launching a number of fast moving lasers towards Tsunade.

"Lightning style: Shock current!" The anbu woman said holding her hands out and sending a current of lightning directly at Darui's lasers.

Being a mix of lightning and water style the other lightning style justu amplified the attack. Tsunade rushed forward unworried as she'd taken stronger attacks than this one for breakfast.

"Gale style: Senbon lasers!" Darui shouted some how adding wind release to his technique after he'd already launched it, causing the lasers to all split into thousands of small and deadlier looking senbon that picked up speed.

Tsunade's eyes widened as time seemed to slow down and she found she had no time to get out of the way. She hadn't even considered he'd have an attack capable of scratching her, but this one actually looked deadly enough to kill her.

"Earth style: Mud wall!" A wall of earth rose between the Sannin and the attack quicker than she'd ever seen one created.

The laser senbon all crashed into the wall no doubt doing major damage on the other side.

Jiriya flickered in front of her and began quickly running through hand signs stopping on the tiger seal only a second after he started.

He reared his head back and exhaled blasting the wall to smithereens and launching a large and powerful stream of fire at the surprised Kumo nin who quickly scrambled out of the way in the midst of time.

He half turned to fix Tsunade with a frown causing her to look at him questioningly.

"There aren't many people in the world who can say they're near our level of strength, but at the end of the day it's a shinobi's tactics that win them the battle. You allowed yourself to be caught off guard just now and almost got severely injured in the process, think before you act Tsunade." He said in a stern tone that had a surprising amount of concern.

Tsunade's heart jumped at the concern and the seriousness in both the man's voice and eyes.

"I'm well aware of what wins battle's Jiriya!" Tsunade said frowning at her old teammate. "But thank you anyway." She said sparing him a grateful smile.

He returned the smile and turned back towards the large cloud of smoke knowing the Kumo nin had both leapt out of the way in the nic of time. It was still a mystery to him even to this day but when he was younger he'd come to the realization sometimes when you launched an attack on your enemies your gut could tell you whether your got a hit or a miss before your eyes could.

It wasn't lost on Tsunade how he'd intended for that last attack to kill the two when only a moment ago he was telling her with a sigh how she shouldn't have hit the anbu who lay on the ground a short distance away so hard.

Was he really that upset that the cloud nin had almost hurt her in that moment that he'd disregarded the Hokages wishes? She felt her face warming up at the thought of Jiriya caring so deeply to go against his own morals of never killing if unnecessary. She frowned at herself shaking her head and shoving thoughts of the man aside for the second time today as there were still more important things to focus on.

Tsunade turned around deciding she'd focus on the anbu Jiriya had been focusing on previously while he focused on the other two.

Yukushia was feeding chakra into the ground standing still as if completely unbothered by the conflict all around her, the remaining three Monogahi were ensuring nothing got near her while Hiruzen seemed to be toying with a group of six anbu by himself.

"Water style: Great water bullet!" A Kumo nin shouted exhaling a large blast of water at the Monogahi.

"Lightning style: Shocking current!" A Kumo kunochi held out her hand electrically charging the water bullet.

"Wind style: Great typhoon!" Another Kumo shinobi said holding up his hands and releasing two spiraling gust of wind that turned the attack into a spiraling whirlpool of electrically charged water that tore through the ground as it went.

A Monogahi woman with white hair with two streaks of orange and deep orange eyes flecked with yellow held up her hand and the combination attack fell harmlessly to the ground inches away from her and the woman she was protecting.

The two shinobi facing her looked on in complete shock wondering what'd just happened.

Two more Monogahi were engaged in close quarters combat with the remaining four Kumo shinobi, one possessing black hair and one white the two appeared to be brothers and their attacks complemented each others nicely.

Outside the trap all of the Kumo anbu tensed ready to launch themselves at the Uchiha when a tangle of ninja wires emerged from the ground and the air all around them pulling together and locking around twelve of the anbu.

"What the-"

"Behind you." Fugaku said knocking out the distracted anbu with one chop to the neck.

One of the kumo anbu quickly turned intent on cutting the wires.

"Don't move!" A Hatsue clone said as it appeared in the clearing with ninja wires connected to the trap in it's mouth and it's hands forming the tiger seal.

The shinobi looked at their comrades weighing being responsible for them being burnt alive or attempting to give aid to their leader.

"Konoha scum! This was your plan all along wasn't it!?" One of the seven who were free yelled furious at how they'd been set up.

Hatsue's clone shook it's head wondering if Kumo shinobi always underestimated others.

"If our plan was something malicious from the get go we'd of set these wire traps including the one your leader is in to kill. Like I said we want to settle this with as little blood shed as possible."

"Don't trust that Konoha bitch, forget about us! Assist the Raikage!" A man who was still struggling to escape the wires holding him yelled.

The other shinobi in the trap weren't so quick to return the sentiment obviously being a bit hesitant at the prospect of death by fire.

"Unfortunately for you eight you're now greatly outnumbered, any resistance would be for nothing. Don't listen to the foolish man as I'm sure you know any sudden movements and I burn your friends alive, then my clansmen will likely end up slaughtering the rest of you." Hatsue said calmly while glaring at the idiot inside the wire trap.

She respected that he was willing to sacrifice himself but if he thought eight anbu actually had a chance of beating fifteen Uchiha jonin he was sadly mistaken.

"You, go help my remaining clone maintain the wire trap." Hatsue ordered one of the younger Uchiha who nodded and quickly flickered away.

Fugaku developed a small smile wishing the girls grandfather could see her at the moment. No doubt Hizishio would be proud of the strong kunochi no one expected she'd become.

Back inside the fireball Aye admitted to himself the shinobi he found himself up against were definitely more than your run of the mill jonin.

Kakashi made another run at him with his lightning blade which Aye was pissed had given the anbu a level of speed similar to his lightning cloak. He easily side stepped the man's attack and moved to counter but found himself wasting the motion on blocking a swift attack from Amaris's sword instead. The kunochi pushed against his guard applifying the wind enhancement on the blade to over power his strength and push him back slightly.

One of the three anbu assisting the two in fighting the Raikage launched a fireball at him which Aye easily dodged.

Kakashi was upon him before he'd even turned back around fully and Aye had to leap away to avoid being ran through by the justu covering his hand. Kakashi and a clone of himself followed the man swinging at them with their lightning blades, never over extending in their attacks leaving the Raikage with no openings.

Suddenly both Kakashi flickered away and two human sized dragons of flame crashed into the Raikage creating a dust cloud on contact.

Before the smoke cleared he was behind the anbu kunochi who'd launched the attack. He made an attempted punch her only to miss as she was pulled into the earth by an anbu they had focusing on defense, he raised his right arm blocking a spinning jump kick from what he thought was the original Kakashi, turning towards the side to avoid a jab of Amaris's sword from behind.

She quickly readjusted her grip and swung the sword in an arch towards the mans midsection but he moved so fast to avoid the attack to the casual observer he seemed to have teleported out of the way and appeared behind her.

Before he could even take a swing at Amaris Kakashi slammed his hands into the ground throwing Aye off balance when a wall of earth rose from underneath his feet. Seconds before he had a chance to leap back onto the ground Amaris was in front of him twirling her blade and her leg with it one striking right after the other consecutively as she spun so fast she burled.

Aye blocked all of her attacks before she twisted in the opposite direction in a speedy motion and caught him in the other side, her wind enhancment allowing her to make it through his cloak but still not managing to damage the man at all. He grabbed her leg intent on breaking it letting go when an anbu fell from the air in the next second, his blade nearly connecting with the man's arm.

Kakashi was behind him in the next instant attempting to pressure him with his lightning blade but Aye waited until the right moment and caught his hand raising his other fist to punch the jounin.

Kakashi brought his other hand forward in the same motion, as the Raikage's fist was meant with a ball of spiraling highly condesensed chakra. The two were dead locked in a power struggle for a few moments till Aye started winning over and Kakashi began to grunt from the effort.

Unfortunately for the Raikage he liked both his arms and he was once again forced to back away as the same anbu along with a clone of Kakashi's dropped from the air nearly taking off both his arms. He had no idea whether or not they could actually make it through his lightning cloak but better safe than sorry he figured.

As soon as he'd backed off two dragons made of lightning latched on to both his shoulders somehow actually penetrating his lightning cloak and imobilizing his arms. He looked back glaring at the silver haired kunochi who cast the justu as Hatake and two of the other anbu stood in front of him forming handsigns.

"Fire style: Fire breather!" The male anbu said exhaling a wide stream of flames.

"Fire style: Burning stream!" The female anbu shouted exhaling a powerful more concentrated stream of flames.

"Wind style: Vacuum blast barrage!" Kakashi shouted exhaling many powerful streams of wind all in one attack that raced towards the fire attacks mixing with and amplifying them to a great extent.

The last shinobi who was in the ground doing defense for the team pulled Amaris into the ground at the very last second, Aye felt the dragons disappear as the numbing sensation left his limbs but he knew he had nowhere near enough time to dodge the attack which was right in his face. The attack crashed into the man creating a large explosion on contact, when the cloud of smoke and dust cleared a moment later the Raikage stood in the same spot sporting a number of burns here and there but looking otherwise alright.

Aye looked at the four jonin level fighters and growled growing more and more irritated by the second. If it wasn't for the groups excellent coordination and teamwork they'd all be laying dead in a pool of blood by now, besides the silver haired girl as Kumo could always benefit from more storm style users.

The Raikage began moving around the four shinobi who were in sight so fast he appeared to be in more than one place. Kakashi found his sharingan was having a hard time attempting to keep up with this level of speed.

The Raikage moved in for an attack on Kakashi and Amaris that the two were able to dodge at the very last second, he was behind Kakashi in the next half of a second launching a lariot at the man and the anbu's head came off easily.

 _"One down."_ Aye thought with a smirk turning to observe the striken looking silver haired kunochi.

Suddenly her image began distorting and bending and she turned into a puddle of silver liquid on the ground from which many kunai shot out of and began bombarding Aye somehow still damaging him even with his lightning cloak.

 _"Genjustu."_ The man thought dispelling the Ilusion and finding both lightning style shinobi and the three anbu to be nowhere in sight.

He turned ready to assist Darui and Mabui in taking down the Sannin when a pair of hands rose from the ground wrapping around his ankles and forcefully pulling him into the ground. Just then he heard the Monogahi kunochi's voice speak from behind him.

"Wind style: asphyxiating typhoon!"

"Fire style: Burning stream!" One of the anbu shouted breathing a stream of fire into the small tornado.

A flaming tornado quickly ascended towards Aye who's head was the only thing above the ground and he let out a roar of fury and outraged at having five shinobi continue to pressure him like this.

The earth around him shattered and the man pulled himself from the ground, lifting a hand to uppercut the tornado before it could touch him.

Much to the surprise of the five watching shinobi the tornado was seemingly split in half by the devestating attack, dispersing and raining flaming embers around the battlefield as it sent out a hot current of wind. He turned and began glaring at the five shinobi all of whom paled and hoped Yukushia would be done soon.

Meanwhile with Tsunade and Jiriya four three anbu lay on the ground at this point, two unconscious and the third Jiriya was sure Tsunade had killed earlier. Their leader was panting heavily while Darui seemed to be sweating as he tried to develop a plan for taking down the obviously superior shinobi.

Jiriya had to give them credit, their teamwork was exemplary and they'd done good to last this long against him and Tsunade, but their last remaining anbu teammate looked ready to feint from exhaustion at any moment and the two didn't look like they could hold up much longer either.

Him and Tsunade had yet to break a sweat though having not even began to get serious with their opponents.

Hiruzen was having a pretty easy time leaping away from another sword swing preforming two back flips and launching a sealess fireball at one of his pursuers. The justu slammed into the man, not strong enough to incinerate him but launching him a fairly good distance away and disabling him.

The other shinobi charged the Hokage, two flickering behind him as they hoped to overpower him by attacking from multiple angles.

"It's far too early for me to be bested by a squad of only six anbu." The Hokage remarked slightly amused by their efforts.

Hiruzen summoned his adamantine staff informing Monkey king enma of why he'd been called upon in this form.

Two of the anbu brought their swords forward in a downward stroke which Hiruzen easily blocked by laying the staff across his back. The others who approached from the front brought their weapons forward in slash and jab motions. The Hokage easily reacted to pulling the staff around his body to knock the jabbing sword aside user aside doing the same with the others. He turned slightly decreasing the thickness of the staff and taking it back around his back connecting with the temple of one of the anbu who were still attempting ambush attacks from behind him, the other found himself surprised when the Hokage quickly spun and hit him hard in the face without even moving the staff that time.

Hiruzen began spinning the staff in an epic display of speed and skill before he launched into a flurry of vicious attacks giving the anbu little time to react and no time to counter as the Hokage began beating them senseless with the metal rode.

After a while they quickly backed away from the man having headaches and aches in their bodies to attest for the man's skill. They all came to the conclusion they'd been going about it the wrong way as the old man was obviously no one to play with when it came to close quarters combat.

One of the shinobi placed his tanto on his back and withdrew two short swords while another summonded a thin long blade that appeared to be a family relece.

Two of the shinobi behind Hiruzen launched justu, one being a water style justu and the other lightning. While the two standing off to the side waited hoping for the others to provide an opening. The Hokage stomped on the ground and a very sturdy wall of mud rose behind him blocking the justu.

The two anbu in front charged the man clearly far more skilled with these weapons than the standard anbu tanto.

The man with the daggers launched a flurry of swift and accurate strikes forcing Hiruzen to holding his staff out in front of him to block the assualt. The man with the long sword flickered behind the Hokage and swung his blade in a vicious arch attempting to bisect the man. Hiruzen leapt into the air and spun bringing his staff around fast and knocking the man's heavy blade out of his hand and also pushing back the surprised duel wielder.

Hiruzen looked at the other anbu and saw them all summoning or pulling out a variety of sword like weapons channeling chakra into them.

All six of them charged a smiling Hiruzen but quickly found themselves paralyzed. Six tendrils of shadow rose from the Hokages shadow and hands began rising from the ground quickly strangling the surprised Kumo anbu who could do nothing about it.

When the six of them lay unconscious on the ground Hiruzen sighed looking at Shikaku as he rose from his shadow.

"I was having a bit of fun there, did you really have to step in and take all six of them down?" Hiruzen asked his advisor wishing he'd of interfered with someone else's battle.

"Honestly I didn't considering I know you could take them, but I'd rather not take any chances on the Hokage getting hurt on my watch." Shikaku replied sounding indifferent to Hiruzen's complaint.

"Too much paperwork for you to deal with is it, and you're growing tired of waiting for us to finish here?" Hiruzen asked stretching his shoulder a bit and looking around the battlefield.

"You know me so well Hokage sama." Shikono smirked.

Meanwhile Nubutaka was still on the defensive as Bee continued putting pressure on the man. Nubutaka smirked before using what now may just be his favorite move considering most of his students had found use for it at one point or another.

He faltered in his foot work which wasn't missed at all by Killer Bee who took it for the bluff it was. Much to Nubutaka's surprise instead of capitalizing like he expected him to do Bee leapt backwards and launched sword after sword after Nubutaka who swiftly dodged each blade.

"You're really good." Nubutaka complemented with a grin after the man regained his swords one by one and readopted his stance.

"While it pleases me greatly to say your words are true, I find it a sad statement to say I don't know about you." Bee said surprising Nubutaka with how he ryhmed.

"While we should be attempting to kill each other to assist our team, I find myself having to ask what it is you mean?" Nubutaka replied.

Bee smirked at the man's reply before sheathing the blade in his mouth so he could speak better.

"That's a dumb question I can say I honestly didn't expect, you obviously aren't fighting hard as I have yet to see a single beed of sweat. Why you're playing games on the battlefield is a mystery to me, but I'll just do my job as a shinobi and let it be."

Nubutaka's grin increased at the reply. "Honestly I know I should be a bit more serious about this, yet I know unlike others that this battle doesn't have long to persist." The Monogahi said cryptical causing Bee to raise an eyebrow.

"I don't wanna ask I know it's a secret you won't tell, but I figure I might as well go ahead and say what the hell. That mysterious answer of yours has me kind of on edge, so I'll go ahead and ask what makes you think your side will come out ahead?"

Nubutaka's grin only widened some more as he felt the chakra in the ground peek. "Now that my friend is a wonderful question with an answer that is plan to see, what gives us an edge here is better ninja and Monogahi." He finished pointing to Yukushia.

Just then the entire ground began to rumble. Before anyone around them unaware of the plan could register what was happening the ground cracked and many large tree's rose from underneath sending vines out to grab all of the Raikage's injured or unconscious shinobi, leaving him in the sizable makeshift forest with his only remaining comrades being Bee, Darui and Maubi, and an anbu who looked beyond exhausted but would definitely be receiving an award for outstanding service on the battlefield later. _"If we make it back to Kumo."_ Aye thought taking in the sight of a dead anbu of his laying on the ground.

The leaf shinobi he wasn't engaging in combat all seemed to be just fine. The Sannin who appeared to have been fighting moments ago looked just fine. So did the man who stood across from Bee but he also noticed Bee didn't seem the slightest bit winded either. The four other Monogahi all seemed perfectly fine, only two of them appearing to have recently been in battle and only sporting a few shallow cuts that would heal in no time. The Hokage looked just as he did during the start of the battle as did his advisor Shikaku. The only shinobi on Konoha's side who appeared winded were the group of five he'd been fighting, and thanks to their teamwork he hadn't been able to severely injure any of them. He'd been hoping to wear them down and dispose of them one by one but now it seemed he was out of time.

The tree's upon rising destroyed the flaming wall trap that'd kept them all isolated from the outside world and he could see twelve of his anbu reinforcements stuck in a wire trap while the other eight stood frozen in their positions looking towards the Raikage and the forest with shocked expressions. Apparently they hadn't been expecting him to lose, that message was clear to see, clear for anyone. Konoha had won, the Monogahi girl who he assumed was responsible for the creation of this forest had a number of sharp roots pointing at the throats of all the ninja the vines of the tree's were holding up as they were wrapped in some kind of makeshift cocoon of vines.

Suddenly something over top of them burst open and the Raikage looked up noticing the rain had stopped but the forest was raining something else, a pollen of sorts which for some reason made him feel very nice.

 _"Why are we even fighting?"_ The Raikage asked himself after a moment taking another look at his shinobi and inwardly admitting his defeat.

He stood up looking to the Hokage and bowed slightly unsure of what he was doing or why.

"My apologies Hokage sama, I did not mean to dishonor my village and bring you trouble with the shameful actions my council and I have conspired to commit. I do hope you will accept my unconditional surrender and spare my men as they're only guilty of following the orders given to them."

Hiruzen smirked widely at the Raikage's complete change in demeanor. He hadn't expected Yukushia's drug to make him this compliant.

"It is quite alright Raikage dono. I'd be perfectly willing to forget the entire incident if you were to give me your word as a shinobi and promise to never again use such underhanded methods in an attempt to gain something that belongs to Konoha."

The Raikage nodded his head in agreement. "You have my word on my position as Raikage, nothing like this will ever be attempted again as long as I remain in office."

"I'd also like to request that you and your council apologise in a letter to Hiashi Hyuga for your actions as well as to the council of Konoha. This ordeal has been the cause of some stress among the Hyuga and the village council."

Aye nodded his head to that as well. "You have my word Hokage, it will be done." Aye said bowing to express his gratitude to the man.

"Thank you for your understanding Raikage dono." Hiruzen said surprised at just how well this was going.

A complacency drug, who would've thought?

He felt as if something extra would be needed to thank Yukushia as without this there would be no way to have settled this so peacefully but that could wait till later.

"You may return his shinobi to him." Hiruzen said to Yukushia who nodded. The tree's lowered their vines sitting the Kumo shinobi down and unwrapping them.

Much to the surprise of Hiruzen and his none Monogahi shinobi, the vines had healing properties or maybe it was just Yukushia's yang chakra that was responsible.

Half the Kumo shinobi the vines had wrapped up we're now concious, asking each other what happened and apologising to their Raikage who seemed not to care too much about their defeat at the moment.

Once they were all gathered up and ready to leave with the dead shinobi being carried by two of his comrades Hiruzen stopped the Raikage, seeing a great opportunity to take advantage of the situation as it wasn't everyday the leader one of your greatest enemies was drugged by a genetically engineered plant spore that gave them a euphoric feeling and made them complaint.

"Raikage dono, I'd like to ask you to do me a favor when you get back to your village."

Aye turned around looking at the man curiously. "What is it you'd like to ask of me Hokage?"

"Please do consider something of an alliance between our villages, as our petty squabbles over land and kekkei genki have pittied the land of fire against the land of lightning for far too long. I'm sure if we were to both get along with one another there'd be no need of such pointless conflicts between our villages."

Aye nodded unsure of why he was agreeing with the Hokage but agreeing none the less.

"You have my word, I will be sure to take the matter up with the council at my earliest convenience. Farewell and safe travels my Konoha friends." Aye said turning away from the leaf shinobi to lead his group back to their village.

"Pleasant travels to you as well, Kumo friends." Hiruzen said turning to direct a smirk Jiriya's way once the Kumo delegation were a good distance away.

Jiriya smirked back at his sensei rubbing his head sheepishly at the old man's look of smugness. The man went inside his armor and pulled out some Ryo he deposited inside the Hokages hand.

"Okay so I didn't really think the plant ladies trick would work. Aye is a frikken hard bastard to convince or get to comply to anything. I'm sure you're just as surprised as I am."

Hiruzen chuckled at his students truthful statement before turning to Yukushia who was leaning on Amaris looking pretty drained.

"I'd like to thank you and your clan personally for helping us to avoid the worst that could have come from that situation, that was simply amazing." Hiruzen complemented causing Yukushia to blush lightly as she thanked the Hokage for his kind words before turning to Jiriya.

"I have a name too by the way, it's Yukushia not plant lady."

Jiriya put a hand under his chin developing a thinking pose before snapping his finger.

"How's about I call you the drug dealer?"

"What? No, you will call me no such thing!" Yukushia fumed at the smirking man not finding his nickname the least bit funny unlike her clan members who held back chuckles and snickers.

Hiruzen walked to Fugaku and extended a hand wanting to give the man a congratulatory shake for his assistance.

"You all did exceptional jobs as well, I'm honestly surprised no one got hurt out here."

Fugaku shook his hand sparing the Hokage a small smile and crediting Hatsue with that.

"I-I didn't have anything to do with that! You guys probably intimidated them into backing down more so than I did honestly." The Uchiha said developing an embarrassed blush and waving her hands nervously not wanting all the credit.

"Just like my cute little Tsue Chan, always so humble and modest." Nubutaka said placing a kiss on the woman's cheek causing her face to light up some more as she smiled but looked away nervously.

Just then the Yamanaka's Ilusion faded and two large tree's came into sight as Inoichi and a clone of his dropped towards the ground.

"Heads up Fugaku, the Uchiha have got competition coming for best genjustu specialist in Konoha now that the Yamanaka can create elaborate illusions like this!" Inoichi shouted at the man with an excited gleam in his eyes.

Fugaku merly smirked and told his comrade to keep dreaming as they begun discussing the new possibilities of how the new Yamanaka justu could be used.

Tsunade watched Jiriya purposely annoying the Monogahi kunochi and wondered just what she was feeling for the man earlier. She felt mostly like it was gone but she still felt a slight tug inside her when she looked at her teammate.

Kakashi congratulated Amaris on a job well done.

"Please, you saved me about a million times during that battle. I always wanted to test my storm cloak against the Raikage's lightning one but he'd have killed me in seconds if I was by myself."

Kakashi nodded thinking similar thoughts.

"He is a Kage after all. At least we managed to hold our own, but you know who the real MVP was during that battle?"

"Damn straight I do!" The two both pointed to the shy earth style using anbu who'd been keeping them covered during most of the battle.

He just rubbed the back of his head as the other two anbu chuckled in agreement with what they said.

Hiruzen smirked with Shikaku as they talked about how disasterous that could have turned out had Danzo's NEE opperatives never managed to kidnap the gate guard and learn of the Raikage's plan.

"Hey drug lady?" Jiriya called earning him a scowl from Yukushia and a few laughs from the other Monogahi.

"How come we were immune to the drug but the Raikage and most of his ninja weren't?"

"I made sure you all inhaled an antidote ahead of time. These flowers in my ear have been giving off an occasional burst of spores that you've all been breathing in as we traveled together.

"Unfortunately they'll die soon but they've already served their purpose. The Raikage and most of his nin will be under the effect of the plants spores for around two days, then they'll revert back to their usual attitudes."

Jiriya nodded before walking closer to Tsunade who'd been surprisingly quiet since the battle ended.

"Are you alright hime?" He asked concerned.

Tsunade turned and felt it again when she saw him looking at her with a serious look of concern.

"I-I'm fine! Just need some time to rest is all." She said turning and walking towards the direction of the village.

Jiriya looked after her for a moment wondering what that was all about but shrugged figuring she was okay and moved to join in on Shikaku, Hiashi and Hizashi's conversation with his sensei.

The group were making their way back to Konoha talking cheerfully among one another. Grateful to have finally put that mess with Kumo behind them.

 **Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. For the most part I've already finished chapter 14 and guess what?** It'll be a boring chapter so you guys get a preview of it. **Tsunade X Jiriya may or may not be a slow burn idk yet depends on how the story develops**

 **All the pairings between younger shinobi will be slow burns as well considering their all too young at the moment. Izumi and Itachi's relationship will probably develop before anyone else's in their age group, in case you guys were wondering. Nothing will be rushed!**

 **Interesting authors note coming for you guys at the beginning of chapter fourteen which I was going to make longer but decided against considering it's already over 19k words. I hate proof reading anything over 19k, I'll be uploading it once I've went back and proof read.**

 _Dialogue_

 **Kasuf:** I know you could've done much better with the fighting scenes than that Khajul.

 **Shy:** Honestly I could have but they'll be plenty of opportunities to create more fight scenes in this fic, we still haven't made it to part one yet.

 **Al Kabir:** I gotta agree with Kasuf on this one, you didn't even give us a good visual for Jiriya and Tsunade's fight or the other Monogahi fighting the Raikage's shinobi.

 **Kasuf:** Loe and behold!The king of ass kissing has finally decided his breath stinks too much to continue.

 **Al Kabir:** Just for that you don't get any tacos when I'm finished dinner.

 **Kasuf:** Woe woe woe! Let's not do anything drastic bro I was just kidding.

 **Al Kabir:** _*Smirks evilly*_ Fight me for your dinner then.

 **Kasuf:** _*Grins and stands up*_ If you say so.

 **Shy:** _*Slams hands on the table*_ First off you two are gonna have to take that outside, second where's the rest of my feedback.

 _The idiots look at each other before Kabir goes into the kitchen to check on dinner real quick and Kasuf sits back down._

 **Kasuf:** I was hype when Bee paired off against Nubutaka, the talking in rhymes was awesome but you really dropped the ball concerning the fight.

 **Shy:** I actually plan to have those two fight each other later in the story with both of them taking the other seriously.

 **Al Kabir:** Just how far ahead are you thinking concerning this fic? _*coming out of the kitchen*_

 **Shy:** Pretty far, I've already written down a bunch of ideas for later in the story. I frequently put thought into how I'm going to handle the fourth great ninja war and Madara's ressurection, and everything in between. I've got a lot of goodies in store for the future. :3

 **Al Kabir:** So what was up with the Monogahi who were protecting Yukushia? The Hokage said all the Monogahi accompanying him were the best the clan had to offer, so they got to have some crazy hax or abilities right?

 **Shy:** I don't want to ruin the surprise because they'll show up later in the story, but they won't be apart of the main cast of characters. I'll just say when you guys first see and find out about their abilities people are gonna start telling me I'm making the Monogahi OP again. _*rolls eyes*_

 **Al Kabir:** _*Laughs*_ I can see that, I'm surprised they stopped.

 **Shy:** Because originally they hadn't seen anyone else fight and didn't know I'd be making everyone stronger compared to cano- Hey! What do you think you're doing with my phone!

 **Kasuf:** I just wanna read chapter 14.

 **Shy:** Wait till I'm about to upload it then, it still has to be proof read!

 **Kasuf:** Well damn, hurry up woman I already finished the first five paragraphs.

 **Al Kabir:** _*Laughs at Kasuf*_

 **Kasuf:** Shut up Kabir!


	14. Chapter 13 Part 2

**A while ago when my longest chapter was the first chapter which was 13K words and my average was anywhere from 5-8K someone told me I should start making longer chapters. I haven't made a single chapter under 8K words since then and my average is at least 15-19K I really hope you guys are proud of me!**

 **I was in a rush to finish chapter 14 part 2 and upload it or I would've made this one longer and added more content and details, it's only 8K words sorry guys.**

 **I hope you guys will enjoy it.**

 _Water in the land of rain_

The leaf shinobi had just returned to the leaf village a few hours ago, all in good spirits thanks to the way the meeting had turned out.

Kakashi stood inside the Hokages office ready to give his mission report for the two months he'd spent undercover inside the land of rain.

"You know Kakashi you could've gotten some rest first, you did just fight a Kage after all." Hiruzen remarked still in his battle armor as he hadn't even had a moment to rest yet.

Usually Kakashi would've shrugged but that was when he was just Kakashi the leaf shinobi. Inu the anbu commander was just about as serious as they came and he figured it best to give his mission report while the events of what'd happened in the land of rain were still fresh in his mind.

"I appreciate the offer Hokage sama, but I returned to the village two days before the meeting and I still haven't given the mission report I was supposed to give the moment I returned."

Hiruzen waved a hand dismissively.

"During the time after you returned we were too busy making plans for the meeting. I'm sure you're tired, you haven't slept for more than three hours in the past two days. Kami knows how much sleep you were able to afford yourself while you were undercover."

Kakashi nearly smirked at that, he honestly had probably got less sleep as an undercover mercenary than he had as anbu captain.

"While I appreciate your concern Hokage sama, it is unwarranted. I'm used to sleepless nights and tireless missions, it's in my job description."

Hiruzen inwardly sighed at his casual way of saying he didn't require sleep but he supposed he had a point. As anbu captain he was expected to be on duty practically 24/7.

"Well then if you insist I'll hear your mission report now." Hiruzen said knowing Inu wasn't one to allow much compromise.

"Thank you Hokage sama." Kakashi bowed before retailing the events that'd took place during his mission from the beginning.

 **FLASHBACK**

Kakashi sat at a table inside some run down little hole in the wall eating some fish that may or may not have been rotten. He couldn't tell with the abundance of seasoning the cook had thrown on the poor little tasteless amphibian.

He tried not to grimace as he ate the highly salted food, he did need to blend in here after all. He should've just ordered some water and rice instead but he figured it'd be best to put something heavy on his stomach.

After a few more bites he just sat there glaring at the fish as he tried not to wish death on the man responsible for this crime against good food everywhere.

He sat there for a while longer unaware that the strange way he was looking at the fish was drawing him attention. He was aware of the attention he was receiving however and he was sure to keep himself guarded while carrying the bearing of any other traveler or sell sword just passing through these shady territories.

A big burly man with a number of scars on his arms and face turned the chair on the other side of the table backwards before sitting down in the chair across from Kakashi looking at the man curiously.

"You gonna finish that?" He asked pointing towards the fish.

Kakashi shook his head no not bothering to make eye contact and the man smiled grabbing his plate and helping himself.

"You're not from around here are you?" He questioned between bites and Kakashi found himself wondering how the man ate that crap with a straight face.

"What gave it away?" He asked sounding disinterested but really curious to know how the man could tell.

"Well for one when I sat down you kept your arms crossed and didn't bother to look me in the eyes. In these lands no one is that trusting of others, not even children get close to other children without having their hands at the ready. Then the way you still haven't bothered looking me in the eyes says you don't really care to find out what type of person I might be. Here that's the only way of really getting an idea about a person, if you don't look someone in the eye either you're too trusting of others or you're just too arrogant to really care about who's around you."

"Oh?" Kakashi smirked. "Well which category is it you think I might fall under?"

The man smirked in return taking another bite out of the fish before giving the obvious answer.

"The arrogant type no doubt, but I'm curious to know if you have good reason to be that way though. Or are you just another soon to be dead man who thought the land of rain was an ocean he could swim in but instead found a deep deep puddle of mud that ended up being his demise."

Kakashi shrugged. "Well I have been looking for work, and as for that ocean. I'm more than content to just cost by efficiently in a pile of dirt. As long as this land gives me something to spread my fins in and I don't end up like that little guy on the plate-" Kakashi said pointing to the fish the man was still eating.

"Then I'll be just find, after all one doesn't have to swim in mud to keep from drowning. You just need to know which way is up, and which is down."

The man's smirk turned into a grin as he finished the last of the fish analysing Kakashi from across the table.

"And which way do you think is up?" He asked sounding curious as to how Kakashi would answer.

"Whichever ever way provides me with the most money for the less work." Kakashi answered confidently lifting his gaze towards the man's eyes for the first time since he sat down.

His grin grew a bit wider and he stood motioning for Kakashi to follow.

"I've know where there's plenty ah work that pays good if you're up for it. Come on Mr confidence, I'm pretty sure my guys'll wanna meet ya."

Kakashi stood and placed some money on the counter leaving a small tip even though the food and the service were horrible, he still had more than enough money to spare so he'd might as well be a nice guy.

The bar keep picked up the Ryo and nodded to Kakashi who returned it before him and the big dude stepped out into the alley where the entrance to the bar sat. They walked through the streets of the poor little village paying no attention to the hungry looking kids that strolled by them asking for money or the adults who looked at them with something close to contempt just because they appeared to actually have money even if it wasn't much.

The two eventually reached another hole in the wall but this one was really just that, a hole in the wall. The big man stepped through first and the two entered a building lit up only by the light of the moon that shined through the cracks and holes in the ceiling that also allowed the rain to fall inside the building as well.

Kakashi kept all of his senses on alert knowing this could very well be a trap. A kunai flew from a corner of the room towards him and he held up his hand easily catching it by the handle with just two of his fingers.

A voice chuckled from the shadows and out emerged the figure of a wirey man who was so thine Kakashi's first impression was he didn't eat much. He was a little shorter than the copy nin and he had long dark hair that he seemingly didn't cut or take care of considering it hung down to his lower back but one could easily tell it'd been a while since it'd been washed or groomed.

He wore a strange mask that looked very uncomfortable. It was all metal with no design at all, just a metal square Kakashi knew weighed the man's head down a great deal.

Unlike the big guy that'd brought him here who wore a nice set of travelers clothes this man wore the clothes of a mercenary. Dark black and brown leathers which seemed too tight on him but undoubtedly provided him more protection than the thin clothes worn by Kakashi and the other man.

Atop the thick dark leathers was a travelers cloak similar to his own that hide a number of smaller weapons Kakashi could see glowing in the moonlight. Everything about the man's attire screamed discomfort but Kakashi could tell he was a shinobi of skill and anyone who underestimated him would find themselves regretting it.

"Where'd you get this one from Teshui, he's got the look of a killer to him and apparently the skills not to die quickly." The man asked in an oddly deep voice.

It sounded like there might be something wrong with his vocal cords and Kakashi wondered why the need for a mask in a country of criminals.

"Found him at the grey lagoon, guy said he doesn't mind swimming in the mud either." Teshui replied with a smirk.

"Oh really? Well in that case we've got plenty of work for you new blood. The question is exactly how dirty are you willing to get?"

Kakashi knew his hands weren't exactly clean already, maybe cleaner than what a NEE captains hands would look like but as an anbu captain his hands were some of the dirtiest hands in the leaf village.

He had to start somewhere if he was to have a chance at finding Hanzo, it was more than likely no one here would share information that important with someone they didn't trust even if he was paying them for it.

"Depends on what kind of dirt we're talking." Kakashi answered back looking the man in his mask eyes holes and just hoping he wouldn't be asked to slaughter innocents for a quick buck.

Two weeks later

Kakashi ducked avoiding a kunai that planted itself inside of the man he'd been fighting.

He turned towards the surprised looking rogue nin

who'd likely just killed his own comrade and raised his eye patch, using Obito's sharingan to trap him a genjustu before flickering behind him and slitting his throat.

He moved on to go assist the leader of their little band of cut throats Yashiu, who was currently doing battle with three rogue nin who from Kakashi's point of view didn't look to be so impressive.

He threw two kunai at one of the three ninja who noticed at the last moment and quickly moved out of the way. The kunai embedded themselves into the shoulder of another nin who cursed and turned towards Kakashi.

"Get clear Yashiu!" Kakashi yelled forming the seal of confrontation.

Before the man could pull the kunai out of his shoulder he was blown to smithereens showering a small corner of the battlefield in blood and gore.

Kakashi quickly ran through the smoke created by the explosion and knocked out one of the other shinobi before he had the chance to figure out what'd happened. Yashiu was easily handling his single opponent now and Kakashi knew he'd have the man dead at his feet in the next couple of seconds.

He turned to survey the rest of the battlefield and saw that their group was pretty much finishing. He took a moment to mourn the lives of the two shinobi he'd killed but such was the life of a ninja, kill or be killed.

He usually spared his opponents in combat if at all possible but these guys were all ruthless and they left no survivors. They'd get suspicious if he didn't take the lives of his opponents and for that reason he only fought when he felt he couldn't avoid it and to keep his cover.

It was a wonder the land of rain still even had shinobi, during his time here his group had been prayed on and praying on groups of other shinobi. He knew the country was basically a haven for rogue nin, smugglers, theives and other sorts of low lives of all kind but he hadn't expected this.

Their group travelled back and forth from various villages taking out bands of shinobi for seemingly no reason. He still hadn't heard any word of Hanzo, no one so much as mentioned the Salamander as if nothing had happened at all.

He was beginning to wonder if he'd just simply cut all communication with the Hokage for whatever reason, it didn't seem as if any radical change had taken place inside the country.

He thought about mentioning him to the members of the group but he didn't want to draw attention to himself by bringing up something it seemed no one talked about.

He wondered why Yashiu and the others just traveled around and murdered shinobi. They never took anything from the nin they killed they just slaughtered them and kept it moving, they got paid for every shinobi they killed but Kakashi had no idea where the money was coming from. He thought about asking someone about that but a good sell sword didn't ask questions as long as the money's good, he'd only be drawing unwanted attention to himself which he really couldn't afford.

The others seemed to trust him to a certain extent now but he still didn't want to chance it. Yashiu seemed to be pretty intelligent and he was a skilled ninja in his own right, Kakashi would classify the man as a jonin and the others he'd definitely put among the chunin rank. None of them seemed bothered by the fact that all they did was attack and defend against attacks from other shinobi and it made him wonder if they knew something he didn't.

How much more blood would he have to spill till he felt it was appropriate to ask Yashiu why they were exterminating other ninja, or would Yashiu just tell him that on his own one day?

It's not like he wasn't used to killing he was familiar with the feeling of blood on his hands and the burden of taking a life on his heart. What he wasn't familiar with was killing without a purpose, he didn't know if what he was doing was getting him any closer to his goal or not and it was starting to irritate him.

This mission was given to him directly from the third Hokage so in essence he was spilling blood for Konoha but that was only the case if the blood on his hands was helping him achieve his goal of finding out what happened to Hanzo.

One more week he told himself, he'd wait one more week and then if he hadn't heard anything about the Salamander he'd ask in the most casual manner he could muster.

He heard a scream and turned to see the twins ripping the clothes off some poor young kunochi who hadn't had the luck of dying alongside her comrades.

Kakashi turned away in distgust. Out of everyone inside their little band of shinobi just being around those two was really starting to grat on his nerves. Unlike everyone else who did it for the money those two took pleasure in killing and toying with their opponents.

This wouldn't be the first time they'd voilated a woman while Kakashi was in their company and he was beginning to think it was something they did casually. His fist clenched at his side and he began to walk away when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Good job hitting that asshole with that paperbomb earlier. He was really starting to get on my nerves, and next time remember to finish your opponents. No one's here to clean up after someone else." Yashiu said pointing to the man Kakashi had knocked out earlier who now had a kunai sticking out of his back.

Kakashi just nodded trying not to scowl at the man who was their leader. How the hell did he think this was okay, how the hell did he let the twins do that without even batting an eye?

"I'm about to head to the nearest town, I'll be at the closest pub whenever we're ready to set out again." Kakashi said shrugging of the hand off his shoulder and proceeding to walk away.

"Hey!" The man yelled stopping Kakashi with the same hand catching his shoulder again.

He turned shooting a hard glare at the mask that he'd come to know as the face of their leader.

"What the hell is your problem?" Kakashi said unable to continue holding in his irritation.

These guys were cut throats, scum bags, and low lives the likes of which he'd never thought he'd have the displeasure of sharing polite company with. The leader growled at the man and tensed slightly as if he might rip Kakashi's throat out at any moment.

"If the rest of us have to stay here and hear that shit so do you! We come as a group we leave as a group. You leave before the rest of us and you aren't counted among us anymore." Yashiu said likely returning Kakashi's glare from behind the mask.

Kakashi's balled his fist at his side and attempted to reign in his anger. He was so close to saying screw this group but to do that would be to undermine his own progress, three weeks was a short amount of time he knew he'd never get back but he still couldn't stand what he was hearing.

He felt like at any moment he'd snap and kill the twins and that'd been the only rule Yashiu had laid down for him when he joined. No attacking your fellow members or you'd be out of the gang.

Kakashi was no fool either, he knew the only way out was death which was why Yashiu was standing in front of him all tensed up waiting for his decision. If Kakashi decided to walk away the five rogue nin behind him would decide they wanted his head along with the one who stood in front of him.

"You seriously don't expect me to just sit here and listen to this do you!? Maybe you guys are used to this but I don't want that woman's cries and pleas for help on my concious...I'm leaving." Kakashi said deciding it wasn't worth it and turning to leave.

He'd find some information pertaining to Hanzo another way, if Yashiu and the others decided to attack him like he suspected they would then so be it. He'd likely be able to surprise them with his true skills and take most of them down before making an escape, oh how he would enjoy feeling the blood of the twins coating his fingers.

He felt a hand grab his wrist squeezing hard and he turned shooting another glare at and fingering a kunai in his pouch. Yashiu didn't say anything for a moment, just seemingly observed him through the iron mask.

"If you're so unfond of what's going on then stop it, you're entirely fucking capable. Stop crying and trying to run away! Man the fuck up and let it be known how you feel! I'm sure you know you aren't leaving this group alive Kenjo, so get over it, grow up, or get murdered...your choice." Yashiu said surprising Kakashi and letting go of his wrist.

The leader walked back towards the group and the undercover anbu stood there for a moment wondering how he was supposed to do that. He couldn't attack the twins, the rest of the group would kill him of he tried it, no words would be able to stop them when clearly the twins enjoyed doing stuff like this, he didn't know exactly how he was capable of stopping them without getting himself into a fight with five chunin and a jonin who had yet to play their full hand same as him.

He heard the oldest of the two start laughing at the woman's cries and he felt a rage he'd never before experienced. He pulled a kunai from the body of one of the dead shinobi on the battlefield and hurled it towards where the sound came from before he had the chance to think of what he was doing.

Suddenly all sound ceased and Kakashi realized what Yashiu had been trying to tell him.

"What the hell man!" Isseku the oldest of the twins yelled standing and pulling up his pants as his fun was abruptly cut short.

"You better have a pretty good fucking reason why you did that new guy or I'll be using you as my new cock sleeve pretty boy! Let's fucking hear it!" Dasseki the youngest shouted upset he hadn't even gotten his turn yet.

Kakashi snarled at the approaching twins and looked to the nude figure of the now dead kunochi. He liked to think he'd done her a favor by killing her instead of letting her endure the twins assualt for any longer but it still didn't ease the burden on his heart any further.

His kill count was now three for the day and he wasn't even sure if any of those deaths had helped him towards completing his mission or not.

"Did you fucking hear me scrub, I said what the hell!?!?" Isseki said grabbing Kakashi by the front of his travelers cloak to hold him at face level.

Kakashi resisted the urge to kill the man and settled for just pushing him away knowing where his hands had just been.

"Who the fuck do you think you are, the boss doesn't even interrupt us when we're havin fun! I oughta skin you alive and feed you to the crows!" Desseki yelled looking twice as furious as his older brother.

"Sorry if I couldn't help but put an end to the sickening act you two call 'fun', but I got tired of listening that woman pleading for help. With all the money Yashiu pays us you'd think you two could go half on a prostitute or something but unfortunately for the rest of us you'd rather force yourselves on women." Kakashi said frowning at the two. He promised himself before he returned to the leaf village he would kill both of them if at all possible.

"Just what the hell is it to you!? If you don't wanna hear it then don't fucking listen, you don't see anyone else complaining! Think just because you got some skills on you we won't leave your body for the scavengers to collect!?" Desseki said grabbing Kakashi's shirt only to find himself pushed away just like his older brother.

"That is if the two of you weaklings could ever even manage to land a blow on me. I don't know what's with you and your brother grabbing on to people's shirts but you need to stop. You both stink, your hands are filthy and I'm sure the only reason you resort to doing this is because no woman actually worth the effort would willing lay with either of you. You're both scumbags with serious issues, and I can't help but think your own inadequacies are what leads you to doing what it is you do." Kakashi finished with venom.

He admitted it was nice seeing the looks of outrage on both of the twins faces.

"The hell did you just say???" Isseku questioned not fully believing he'd heard the man right.

"I wonder what your mother would say if she knew how her son's treated young women. Or is that how you fine gentle got concieved in the first place, by your father being a sorry sack of shit?"

"The fuck did you just say scrub!?!?" Desseki said as his eyes filled with an unholy rage and he went into his ninja pouch not wanting to talk anymore.

His brother saw what was coming and held out a hand attempting to stop him but it was too late.

He'd already pulled out a kunai and rushed Kakashi yelling obscenities and empty threats he intended to follow through with. Before the man could even react though Yashiu was behind the younger twin instantly delivering a chop to the back of his neck and knocking him unconscious.

Kakashi smirked at the look of fear on Isseku's face, he relished it, it made the man nearly giddy inside to see the same looked he'd elicted from three separate women the two weeks he'd been traveling with their group. Not to mention Desseki had broken the one rule the group was made to follow, he hoped to Kami the man would pay with his life for it.

Isseku looked at Yashiu in fear knowing exactly what the penalty for attacking another member of the group was. His brother had messed up big time, he could just tell by looking at the mask of their leader that he was not pleased.

"We're heading back to town, pick your brother up and make sure he doesn't repeat the mistake he just made..if he does you'll both be paying the penalty for it." Yashiu said with a tone that left no room for back talk.

"Yes sir! Thank you sir!" Isseku said hurrying to pick up his twin and quickly moving back in the direction towards town.

Kakashi saw the other three members of their group nodding their heads at him and Teshui the big man who recruited him shooting him a thumbs up before following behind the twins.

Yashiu gave him a pat on the shoulder and Kakashi looked at him questionly.

"Good job newbie, no one really likes the twins or condones what they do but I try not to be too controlling of my members and the others just tolerate them. I'm sure they'll think twice before making a repeat of what they did today while your here." The man said with approval and what Kakashi thought was a grin in his voice before walking away to follow behind the others.

 _"Well that went well I suppose."_ Kakashi thought before sparing one last glance at the dead kunochi and her comrades.

 _"I hope this all turns out to be worth it at the end of the day."_

He said a short prayer of peace for the dead shinobi and began walking behind his group before they turned around wondering what was taking him so long to follow.

As the group neared the town they'd stage their next attack they encountered another group of seven standing on the road, all shinobi by the looks of them. No one said anything they all just sized each other up waiting for the other to act, the only thing separating the groups was the constant fall of rain and a large puddle in between them.

Isseki began slapping his brother awake in preparation for the battle to come and everyone in their group tensed getting either ready or excited for battle, besides Kakashi and Yashiu who both remained calm.

A middle aged blonde man standing in the center of the other group stepped forward and Kakashi knew him to be the leader, he held the same air of calm confidence held by him and Yashiu.

"Ame's new leader put quite the bounty out on your little group." He said looking at Yashiu.

 _"So something did happen to Hanzo."_ Kakashi confirmed seeing his first lead since entering the land of rain.

If Ame's new leader had put a bounty out on their group Yashiu likely knew why, it explained why they got attacked by shinobi just as much as they were attacking them.

The masked man still hadn't bothered replying to the blonde. The man heading their opposing group just smirked seemingly uncaring.

He pulled a long one handed sword off his back and still the two groups just stared at one another. Kakashi was getting slightly impatient, he finally had not just one but two leads and come to find out he'd been traveling with one of them this entire time.

"So we gonna do this or what!?" An impatient Desseki yelled now holding a small scythe.

The man snickered at the younger twin sparing a moment to look them all over before turning back to Yashiu.

"Strong silent type eh, or are you just afraid that your group aren't facing a bunch of weaklings anymore?"

Instead of answering Yashiu threw his travelers cloak off and Kakashi and the others got a good look at an assortment of throwing knives and daggers he kept strapped to himself.

"Owww, scary." The man said taking a moment to laugh at Yashiu. "Before we start this little party tell me though, how come Ame's new leader is willing to pay one million Ryo for your head."

"I'm curious to know what you could've done to earn the man's attention so soon after he came to power."

Yashiu humped pulling two daggers from the belt at his waste which held around six of them.

"I keep killing his little hired hands and pretty soon I'll be coming for his head." The silent man answered speaking for the first time since encountering the group.

The shinobi across from them looked thoughtful at the statement.

"They say the man's a God and he even killed the Salamander in single combat. You think you could really kill a man like that?" The blonde man questioned raising an eyebrow.

"Who knows? I know I'm perfectly capable of killing you though." Yashiu said ending all conversation and charging towards the man.

Kakashi and the others followed his lead and the copy nin found himself in a blade lock with a blue haired kunochi who weilded two kunai.

 _"Better me then the twins."_ He thought deciding he'd avoiding killing this time around.

He only needed to survive long enough to take down the stragglers and kidnap one of the leaders of either group. He didn't know who had the most knowledge on what was going on so he figured who ever survived would do. They could likely lead him to more information if they couldn't tell him everything he needed to know.

He raised an eyebrow at how the kunochi was obviously struggling to hold her own as she pushed against his kunai with hers, he wasn't even trying and she was clearly struggling.

She raised her other kunai bringing it down in a vertical slash. Kakashi moved letting all the pressure he was placing against her kunai go and pivoted to her right making a horizontal slash with his. She backed away and came forward again slashing at him rapidly and Kakashi nearly frowned at her sloppy technique. It didn't look like she was a melee fighter from her preformance so far.

He easily evaded the swings she was practically telegraphing, he was watching and waiting for the easiest opening when she took a huge swing at him and he saw the rain gather around her kunai for an instant. He ducked as she swung instead of just stepping backwards and a sharp wave of water flew off of her blade like a water style servering wave.

A bloodline ability he figured, quickly deciding not to give her the offensive anymore. He'd rather not see what else she could do.

Kakashi threw a left at her then swung at her with the kunai in his right. She blocked both swings and moved to counter with a wide horizontal slash but the move was too predictable to Kakashi and it left her too open. He leapt over the blade and used his momentum to twist in the air landing a hard kick to the kunochi's head.

Much to his surprise after taking the hit her face turned into water and quickly reformed. He hadn't seen that before but he disregarded it, if all she had was water morphing abilities and pathetic melee prowress it would still be an easy fight.

He spun as soon as he landed and her ankles turned into water as his leg connected with them. She fell to the ground and her whole body became water adding to the large puddle they were fighting in. Kakashi jumped backwards landing on top of the water not attempting to take unnecessary chances.

She rose from the water behind him hoping to cut open the back of his throat but Kakashi was used to blind side attacks. He ducked and placed his hand on the surface of the water holding himself up and kicking her in the chin, watching as she disolved and fell into the puddle again.

 _"This is going to be annoying."_ He thought getting ride of his hopes of not wasting any chakra in his first fight.

She rose from the water and began forming hand signs, the puddle rose and formed into three sperate copies of her who all charged him from different angles.

Kakashi blocked a punch from the one in front of him ducking to avoid a slash from the one on his right and throwing a kunai at the one on the left to keep it off of him. The one in front of him swung with her kunai and Kakashi grabbed her wrist intending to throw her into the other copy but his hand went straight through the water and he couldn't pull it back out.

The kunochi's clone smirked and brought the kunai in it's other arm forward to pierce him while the clone on the right made a vertical slash towards him. Kakashi moved to the side avoiding both the slash and the jab, cutting the clones arm from the wrist and freeing his hand. He quickly formed the hand signs for an all time Konoha favorite.

 _"Fireball justu!"_ He breathed catching the clones by surprise by how quickly he formed one handed seals.

The two clones in front of him couldn't react in time and evaporated when hit with the fireball, but the one that'd dissolved when hit by the kunai was rising out of the puddle behind him in the next second. He brought his kunai up over his shoulder and plunged it into the clones face channeling lightning through the blade and causing the clone to let out a howl of pain before disolving and falling back into the puddle of water.

He looked around but the kunochi he was fighting was nowhere to be seen. A hand rose from the puddle and grabbed his leg and he saw a number of sword fish shaped water constructs forming and rushing towards him.

He quickly formed more one handed seals and slammed his hand inside the large puddle he stood in.

"Lightning style: Shock carpet!" The entire puddle light up with the glow of electricity drawing the attention of everyone else fighting on top of the water but not harming them thanks to tne chakra in their feet.

The sword fish dissolved just like the woman's clone had when hit with lightning.

Kakashi heard a faint scream beneath him and the woman's body reformed out of pure water and just floated in the puddle. She laid unconscious and Kakashi kicked her just to make sure having no time for sneak or surprise attacks.

 _"Hozuki clan."_ He thought wondering what she was doing so far away from Kiri.

He moved to get her body out of the water so she wouldn't drown but quickly leapt away as a large blade was swung in his direction. A shinobi with blue hair and another with white hair both stood in front of the girl glaring hard at Kakashi.

He created a shadow clone and quickly looked around seeing both the twins face down in the puddle blood spreading out around them. He never thought seeing a comrade die would be satisfying but there was a first time for everything.

 _"If they took the twins down that quickly either these two are skilled or those two were weaker than I thought."_

A water clone of the white haired nin rose from the puddle and moved the woman to safety. Kakashi was mildly impressed he'd created it without hand seals.

"We'll make you pay for hurting our sister jackass!" The one with the white hair yelled and Kakashi noticed his teeth were sharpened to a fine point meaning he was a Kiri academy graduate.

He let his transformation dispell for the first time in two weeks and the shinobi both looked surprised seeing a Konoha anbu standing in front of them, and not just any anbu but the famous copy ninja of all people.

"What the hell ar-"

Kakashi didn't give the man time to finish asking his question. In truth he wanted to know what the Hozuki clan were doing in the land of rain right now but he couldn't be bothered to care at the moment. Why should he care that they wanted to know what he was doing here, his mission was classified anyway.

His clone had pulled the standard anbu tanto from the holder on it's back while Kakashi just stuck with a single kunai.

His clone went high and he went low surprising the Hozuki who found himself quickly being slashed from two angles, unlike his sister who dissolved into water when she sustained significant damage the white haired shinobi just reformed.

The Hozuki's brother charged Kakashi with his wide meat cleaver of a sword but got the surprise of a lifetime when Kakashi's clone just raised it's hand and caught the blade with a hand covered on lightning. The lightning from Kakashi's chidori traveled up the blade and began shocking the blue haired nin who had too much lightning running through his mind and body at the moment to let go of the blade.

The elder Hozuki tried to quickly rush towards his brothers aid but found a himself having to leap away as a small fireball nearly incinerated him.

"I'll kill you you son of a bitch!" The Hozuki roared as the puddle around Kakashi started shifting and he sensed trouble.

He simply raised his mask slightly and trapped the Hozuki in a genjustu the moment the man laid eyes upon his sharingan. His clone just finished with the younger brother and let go of his blade as the chidori disappered. The boy feel backwards landing in the puddle and the clone picked him up moving him on the dry part of the road next to his sister.

Kakashi activated a weak chidori next and just touched the Hozuki's shoulder not wanting to kill him but just weaken him slightly or knock him unconscious. The white haired shinobi found himself shocked out of the genjustu by a pain that started at his shoulder and spread throughout his body and didn't stop until his chakra reserves were considerably depleted from trying to dispell the deadly foreign chakra.

Kakashi caught the man as he was about to fall forward and hefted him onto his shoulder knowing he was too exhausted now to put up a fight.

The Hozuki growled at him and Kakashi chuckled moving towards where his clone stood with the others and laying him down between his brother and sister.

He turned back to the fight that was taking place and saw the blonde man who was leading the group shouting something angrily as Yashiu approached him slowly with a dagger in hand.

The others were all sporting injures but they'd finished their fights for the most part and Kakashi wondered if he should go with his original plan of kidnapping one of the leaders or just asking Yashiu for the information he wanted. No doubt the man would be upset the twins were now dead and Kakashi was an undercover anbu all along.

"Hey." The Hozuki called pulling Kakashi out of his thoughts.

He looked at the boy questioningly wondering what the unspoken question was he detected on his lips.

"Why did you spare us?" He asked looking at Kakashi critically as if he couldn't understand.

The copy nin shrugged turning back towards the battlefield and his clone answered for him before he could fully put the reason together.

"Konoha doesn't do things the way the other hidden villages do, we don't kill if it can be avoided and you three are pretty young. There's no reason for us to kill you so we won't." He said plainly causing the boy to shake his head clearly still confused.

"But we tried to kill you...if I could fight right now I'd still be trying to kill you, I don't understand."

Kakashi's clone shrugged and spared the boy a small eye smile.

"It's just how Konoha nin are kid, just because you try to kill us doesn't mean we've gotta try to kill you. Two wrongs don't make a right and a bee that stings never has a chance to redeem itself, most shinobi outside of the leaf village never could understand that. It's what makes Konoha so different, it's why most other shinobi villages hate us, they think we spare lives because we think we're better than them but really we're just typically seekers of peace."

The Hozuki looked surprised by the clones words before turning to Kakashi and looking at him critically before asking a question the copy nin would have never expected to come from a Kiri nin.

"Do you think me and my siblings could come with you back to Konoha?"

Kakashi's eye widened slightly at his question and he turned to look at him critically wondering what the hell had happened that lead to these Hozuki siblings ending up so far from home and asking a question like that.

"Uhhm.. I don't think the Hokage would mind but I've gotta ask, how come you and your siblings are so far away from Kiri and why don't you want to go back? I thought the Hozuki were the villages loyalist clan."

The boy frowned and looked away and Kakashi knew he wouldn't be getting an answer to that question.

"Well...if I complete my mission soon it shouldn't be a problem. I'm sure the Hokage and the Konoha council would love to welcome a new clan into it's fold."

"Hey, but about my sister...I'd need to know-"

Kakashi held up a hand letting the boy know he didn't need to continue.

"Konoha doesn't do things that way, the Hokage would personally make sure you and your brother and sister are comfortable. None of you would be forced into anything."

The boy grinned and laid his head back against the ground and Kakashi couldn't help but feel as if he'd just helped him lift a weight off his chest. Just then a loud boom went off where the battle was still going on and Kakashi and his clone turned back around with wide eyes wondering what'd just happened.

The entire puddle was now gone and there was a huge cloud of smoke over the battlefield, Kakashi cursed himself hoping someone valuable had just survived whatever the hell that was and rushed into the smoke telling his clone to stay and watch the kids.

He got inside the cloud of smoke and mostly dust from the ground and began looking around hoping to find someone. He walked around inside the huge cloud of smoke for around five minutes relying on his sharingans keen sight to guide him.

He finally stumbled across the shadowy outline of something inside the smoke cloud and rushed forward finding it to be a thick dome of rock that'd just barely held up against the explosion. He quickly formed a set of hand seals and began slowly opening the thing up praying that it would be one of the leaders inside of the dome.

His hopes were dashed when he finally managed to crack the thing open and saw the unconscious face of a young woman he didn't recognize. He frozen upon further inspection when he noticed the same restricting leather clothes and arsenal of small knives worn by his leader.

"Y-Yashiu!?"

 **Look for part three on my next upload.**

 _Dailouge_

 **Kasuf:** There's a problem with the spacing.

 **Shy:** I'm aware, I was in a rush sorry.

 **Kasuf:** I hardly mind just pointing it out.

 **Kabir:** So who's Yashiu really? What does she have to do with Hanzo, give us a hint.

 **Shy:** No hints Kabir, you've gotta wait till my next upload like everyone else.

 **Kabir:** Can I at least get a sneak peek?

 **Kasuf:** She said to wait man, you don't get special treatment!

 **Kabir:** Shut uuup, you're just still mad I ate the last of ths pizza rolls.

 **Kasuf:** Welll I'm the only one who didn't get any!

 **Shy:** _I think we're getting off topic here._


	15. Chapter 13 part 3

**I really only did these for extra entertainment. I wouldn't really call them that entertaining, but can you really beat two chapters on one upload day? Really these chapters aren't really important but Yashiu and the Hozuki siblings may make appearances later in the story.** **I'm sad, 4K words :( at least it's a chapter that's basically just wrote for the hell of it. The other one was at least 8K words though *** _cries_

 _Posion mist in the rain_

"Y-Yashiu!?" Kakashi stammered wondering if he was seeing things.

He'd have never imagined their tuff no nonesense leader was a young kunochi the entire time. It wasn't so surprising that she was a female but more so that she appeared to be even younger than he was.

The girl was likely no older than Amaris if her face was anything to go off of. No wonder he'd always thought Yashiu was small in a way that couldn't have been healthy, Yashiu wasn't a man.

Her eyes creased and she began to stire causing Kakashi to take a cautious step backwards. Her eyes opened and she sat up, Kakashi's onyx eyes meant a rare shade of ember he'd never seen before.

She raised a hand and just looked at her palm before standing up. She spared Kakashi a look that betrayed no emotion, no curiousity, no hostility. It was as if she still wore the mask he'd come to recognize as her face.

She turned and began walking away and Kakashi quickly remembered what he was here for.

"Wait." He commanded surprised when she actually obeyed and stopped without turning around.

"What is it Kenjo?" She asked in a perfectly natural sounding voice.

"So you know who I am then?" He asked wondering how she'd pieced it together.

"Now I do, I was waiting for you to show your true colors. The moment I saw you I knew you weren't just your typical rogue nin looking for work." She said turning over her shoulder to observe him with one eye.

"I gotta say I didn't expect a Konoha anbu, but it really makes no difference. Ask whatever it is you stopped me for while I still have the patience to entertain questions."

 _"That's some confidence for someone who nearly just died in an explosion."_ Kakashi thought wondering how much chakra she had left.

"What happened to Hanzo?" He asked getting straight to the reason he was here.

He thought he saw a flash of something in her eye before she turned and began walking away.

"He died, end of story."

Kakashi frowned and flickered to stand a short distance in front of her.

"That's not everything I need to know. How did he die, who killed him and how do you know this?"

"I already told you what's most important and I don't have the time or the patience to play twenty one fucking questions with the Konoha anbu." She said in a tone that held a bit of irritation.

"Answer my questions or I make you." Kakashi said in a voice that said the last thing he was doing was bluffing.

Yashiu formed a set of hand signs Kakashi was familiar with and slammed her palm on the ground. A cloud of smoke rose around her and Kakashi withdrew a kunai preparing himself for anything. A blade cut through the smoke and Kakashi's eyes widened somewhat from behind his mask.

Standing in the same spot was Yashiu with two long sickle blades that ressembled short scythes. On the end of each blade was a chain which she was currently using to twirl one of the blades demonstrating a familiarity with the weapons famously used by none other than Hanzo the Salamander.

 **Present**

"So she was his daughter then?" Hiruzen interrupted questioning Kakashi.

Inu simply nodded a yes before Hiruzen beckoned he continue.

 **Back to the story**

"This is your last warning Kenjo. I don't really like killing strong shinobi but if you get in my way I won't regret it."

Kakashi didn't reply, he merly slipped into a battle stance and readied himself for her assault.

"Guess that's a no then." She said before hurling one of the scythes in his direction.

Kakashi dodged the blade knowing exactly what to expect as she pulled on the chain and brung it back towards him. He quickly spun out of the way of the blade at his back and leapt into the air over the other scythe that'd come flying as he avoided the first.

He landed and began to close the distance between the two. Yashiu spun wrapping the chains around herself and twirling the scythe in a wide circle around herself forcing Kakashi to flicker away.

He reappeared and found Yashiu quickly upon him weilding the scythes as most would, he couldn't really say anything for her style. He easily kept up with her strikes but she didn't live up to any of the the fame or the legend that accompanied those blades she used.

She dropped one of the scythe letting it fall to the ground and continued attacking him with the other. He warded off her attacks wondering why she'd abandoned her weapon when suddenly she flickered out of view and the discarded scythe flew towards Kakashi at a speed his regular eye couldn't keep up with.

He flickered just barely avoiding being sliced in half and the other scythe came flying towards him from behind. He knocked it out of the air but Yashiu spun bringing the other scythe around which he also blocked.

She flickered behind him and the scythes once again followed at a speed he could barely follow and he flickered a short distance away to regain his bearings and locate his opponent. Yashiu wrapped both chains around her arms and spun in a circle to make another attempt at cutting the anbu in half.

Kakashi leapt further out of the range of the blades and she flickered a short distance towards him and spun still keeping the same momentum she spun with previously. Kakashi's widened as he just barely managed to block the blades in time, the force behind the swing causing him to slide along the wet ground a bit after blocking the attack.

 _"Maybe I underestimated her skill with those scythe too soon. That initial attack is way too deadly and afterwards her scythe keep the same momentum."_ Kakashi said ensuring himself he'd watch out for her flickers.

She pulled the scythes on the ground next to him back towards her and flickered behind him again while the scythe were still in mid air. He swore and flickered out the path of the flying scythe.

He landed a short distance away and a kunai flew towards him which he easily flicked to the side, but not before seeing a paper bomb wrapped around the handle. He quickly flickered away yet again cursing his luck as he sat with his back against a rock that'd been misplaced by the explosion. He seemed to have a bad habit of facing off against tough opponents more often than not.

A scythe appeared over head and fell slicing through the rock he'd been sitting behind a moment ago.

"What's the matter Kenjo? I thought you were better than this." The dark haired kunochi said calmly twirling one of the scythes.

"You're not as good with those things as Hanzo was." Kakashi replied rather matter of factly since they were on the topic of judging one anothers abilities.

"I was never really as good with these things as I was expected to be. So instead of trying to use them like people expect I developed a more unorthodoxed style. If you didn't have that sharingan you'd be dead right now."

Kakashi didn't bother denying or confirming her statement for her. Somewhere in his mind he admitted to himself she'd devised an incredibly simple yet deadly technique.

Whenever she let go of one of the scythes and flickered the scythe moved nearly just as fast as she did depending on how much length she left on the chain. The blades would blur nearly instantaneously and move at speeds one had to rely on instinct to follow.

"So Hanzo was your father then?" Kakashi asked figuring that'd get one of his questions out if the way early.

Yashiu didn't bother giving him the response he was expecting by answering yes or no. Instead she stayed silent and began twirling one of her scythe before replying.

"They say Konoha's White Fang was on a level of skill comparable to that of the Sannin." She said pausing to see if Kakashi reacted to her comment.

Satisfied when she saw no visible indication that he'd heard her besides the look of curiosity in his eyes she continued.

"I think it poetic justice that we both should meet here and do battle. To the best of my knowledge none of the Sannin ever produced any offspring but your father was said to be on even footing with them. Too bad he died before his time, but such is the life of a shinobi." She remarked looking rather unthoughtful about her comment.

"The offspring of Hanzo the Salamander. Versus...the offspring of someone who'd been on level with the Sannin. Will you live up to your fathers name or will you end up being one of life's many dissapointments?" She asked grabbing the scythe out of the air mid twirl.

Kakashi didn't bother indulging her with a response. Instead he stood up straight and held his hand in the other charing a lightning blade and deciding he would answer her question for her.

He channeled more lightning chakra to his feet than usual figuring the quicker he showed her the difference in where they were as Shinobi the more painful it'd be for her to swallow those words. The ground beneath him began to crack as access lightning from the justu was channeled towards his feet.

"That's some fancy justu you got there?" She said sounding mildly impressed.

Kakashi disappered in a blue blur lightning and was right in front of her just a moment later.

He spun and took her feet out from underneath her and stuck his lightning blade into the ground beside her head.

"Funny for all that talk of yours you ended up being the one who was the disappointment." Kakashi said deactivating his chidori and standing up.

"Before this is over you're going to tell me everything I wanna know, once I'm satisfied we'll go our separate ways. You could either choose to prolong this or you could just save us both the trouble of a battle since we're both kind of short on time."

She glared hard at Kakashi and stood slowly, inhaling a deep breath as her eyes seemingly misted over.

The copy nin not knowing what to expect decided to listen to his instincts and leapt away just as she released a cloud of purple colored mist that surrounded the space around her.

 _"The posion fog justu huh? Not surprising considering she claims to be Hanzo's child, but why posion herself?" Kakashi thought noticing she hadn't made any move to remove herself from her own posion cloud._

A scythe flew from the purple cloud of smoke moving fast towards Kakashi and he quickly withdrew a kunai he used to knock the scythe into the air back in the other the direction. The cloud instantly broke apart and Kakashi's sharingan locked on to three different movements quickler than his other eye could register everything it was seeing in that time frame.

Yashiu broke away from the mist cloud quicker than your average shinobi could move disappering behind him in what was surely a flicker. The scythe she'd left behind inside the posion cloud started moving towards him immediately while the scythe he redirected which hung in the air for a moment did the same.

Kakashi flickered out of the way and Yashiu spun as soon as both blades passed her pulling the chains and bringing the scythe around in a circle. Kakashi ducked under the path of the first blade and stepped back to avoid the second.

Yashiu kept spinning forcing Kakashi on the defensive as the blades had too much momentum for him to block and if he tried to get past them one of the chains would definitely catch him.

Kakashi backed away further and Yashiu not even interrupting her spin hurled three daggers towards him.

Kakashi moved out of the way and caught sight of Yashiu flickering again he followed her weapons chain and caught sight of her in the air, her scythe moving past her and pulling her forward. She spun pulling it back towards her and hurling the other one she'd been holding towards Kakashi

He side stepped avoiding the powerful throw and the scythe stuck itself into the earth beside his feet. Yashiu pulled on the chain slowing her momentum and landing a short distance away skidding on the rain soaked ground as her feet slowed her to a stop.

 _"Her style definitely is unorthodox compared to Hanzo's but it definitely works. With her flickers alone most other ninja would likely be dead now, definitely anything below special jonin...or regular jonin for that matter."_

Yashiu stood with an empty look in her eyes as she half observed the scythe she held and half kept her eyes on Kakashi.

"You were close with your father?" Kakashi asked unable to help himself.

Yashiu looked at him for a moment before giving a silent nod and pulling the scythe inside the ground next to his feet back towards herself.

"My father may have had his faults like any other leader but at the end of the day he loved his country. He loved my mother before she passed just as he loved his children." She said keeping her voice as devoid of emotion as it always was.

"His children?" Kakashi asked surprised to hear the man had more than one.

"There were three of us, few people knew we were Hanzo's kids. Not many were supposed to but that man found out about us somehow. He killed my brother Hanshiu right after my father. My other brother Teshiu the one who recruited you just died in that explosion. I'm the only remaining child of The Salamander." She said seemingly unbothered by her statement.

"Did you hold no love for your brother?" Kakashi asked wondering how she spoke of his death that'd only happened moments ago with no visible emotion.

She hardly seemed to care at all that she'd just lost the group she assembled, along with her only remaining blood.

"I loved my brothers but they died because they were weak, same as father. We don't cry for the weak here, weaklings are only food for the strong. My father and brother would ridicule me for getting all teary eyed about their deaths." She said as her voice developed a bit of ice.

"So your quest to over throw Ame's new leader is strictly-"

"Business." She finished for him. "Ame is my birthright, I fully intend to reclaim all that is mine."

Kakashi nodded figuring he understood.

"If that's the cause we're both just two shinobi on a mission. How's about you just answer a few more of my questions and we avoid this battle?"

Yashiu snorted. "What makes you think this battle will inconvenience me any? Perhaps I'm a bit anxious and impatient at times but I have the rest of my life to focus on retaking what I'm due."

Kakashi shrugged reactivating his lightning blade and hoping he wouldn't kill her by mistake during their battle, then there was always the off chance she could kill him purposely. That would really suck too.

He rushed towards her and she reared her head back unleashing another cloud of toxic mist. Kakashi held his breath and took a large jump backwards. One of her scythe flew from the cloud of posion and Kakashi instead of catching it with his lightning blade side stepped the weapon figuring it was likely coated in posion.

She spun in the mist wrapping the chain around her body and binging the scythe back towards herself. Kakashi moved out of the way of the blade and held his breath before charging towards the posionious cloud.

Yashiu saw him blurring towards her from her position inside the deadly vapor and began forming a set of seals.

She waved her head to the side spitting a large crescent shaped blade of water. Kakashi's eyes caught the blade slicing through the cloud and he leapt above it, twisting in the air and landing still rushing towards her without an ounce of lost momentum.

"Wind style: Hurricane!" A blast of wind parted the posionious cloud and pushed Kakashi backwards. Yashiu flickered and Kakashi leapt over the blade that speed towards him, Yashiu spun redirecting the blade towards the ground and infusing chakra in her right arm.

"Earth style: Rock bunshin." She slammed her right hand down and two clones rose from the earth beside Kakashi.

 _"She hasn't used a hand sign for a single justu yet. I've never seen anyone create rock bunshin like that, almost like a summoning. Maybe she isn't a dissapointment to her father's name."_

Kakashi rushed the clones to his right taking a swipe at it with his lightning blade, jumping backwards as another cloud of posion came from that Yashiu's mouth. He leapt over the scythe that was thrown at his back and flipped in the air avoiding another one thrown by the real Yashiu.

Another scythe came flying towards him from the front and Kakashi used his lightning blade to knock away the scythe without touching the blade before landing and taking off towards the nearest Yashiu.

Just as he expected the clone inhaled deeply prepared to launch another cloud of posion mist but Kakashi's lightning blade cracked and sparked and he disappered tearing through the clone instantaneously and reappearing behind it. Yashiu and her other clones eyes both widened and Kakashi instantly tore through the purple mist destroying the other clone and reappearing behind it.

He held his lightning blade up sparing it a look and then looking up at Yashiu who began to grow a bit nervous at the blinding speed the copy nin just showed.

 _"He just took out both of my clones so fast it was like he was teleportating. Has he just been messing around?"_ Yashiu thought as her eyes narrowed and she decided she'd need to kill him quickly before he could catch her off guard.

Kakashi saw her eyes narrow and realized if she hadn't been playing seriously before she was about to start.

 _"I still haven't figured out the flash teleportation but all that practice helped me come up with a new variant of use for the lightning blade. Too bad it uses so much chakra."_ Kakashi thought wondering if he could apply it to another one of his chidori techniques.

Yashiu bit her thumb and began to run through hand seals before raising her hand.

"Summoning: Ibus-"

"Sorry but I can't let you do that." Kakashi's shadow clone said catching Yashiu's wrist and interrupting her summon.

Yashiu inhaled and prepared to exhale another cloud of posion but a blast of lightning slammed into her before she could causing her world to go dark. Kakashi's clone caught the dangerous mist kunochi before she could fall and hauled her over his shoulder before turning towards the original.

"Thought I'd come see what was taking you so long." The clone spoke before walking back in the direction it'd come from.

Kakashi only nodded and followed grateful for it's decision to do so. If Yashiu summoned the very same Salamander Hanzo was known to call on things would've gotten very difficult.

"What was that justu you used to knock her under? I didn't even see a blast of lightning, just a flash of-"

"Light?" Kakashi interjected knowing what the clone was reffering to. "I applied flash teleportation to the lightning blade and that time I applied it to a beast running justu."

Inu's clones eyes showed surprise at the statement and also a bit of alarm.

"You knew that wouldn't kill her?" He asked wondering what he'd been thinking.

"Honestly I had no idea. I figured she was pretty tough though, so my gamble paid off."

Kakashi's clone looked at him questioningly behind the mask.

"Must have been a hard opponent if she had you gambling on the mission. Where'd she come from anyway?" The clone asked having not observed her enough to recognize her attire as Yashiu's.

"She's been here the entire time, she didn't come from anywhere. She's definitely a worthy adversary I'll give her that, but if I was aiming to kill her the battle would've been over a while ago."

The clone nodded understanding what he was saying. Their fighting style wasn't really the kind that was meant for subduing enemies.

"So then if she's been here?" The clone asked running through a mental list of all the shinobi who'd engaged in combat over the large puddle of rain water.

"It's Yashiu." Kakashi answered knowing the clone couldn't really see her that well on his shoulder. The clone made no visible indication of being surprised at the information but Kakashi knew it was just as surprised as he was.

"Well I guess I didn't see that coming. Was she the cause of that explosion earlier?"

Kakashi shook his head no having already come to a conclusion about how that happened.

"More than likely her opponent activated some kind of suicide justu when he realized he was out matched, intending to take her with him. He might have failed but he managed to take everyone else in the group including one of Hanzo's other kids."

"One of Hanzo's other kids?" The clone asked surprised the man had more than one.

 **Present**

Inu finished giving the Hokage the rest of the information he'd forced from Yashiu when she woke hours later. Hiruzen sat thinking over what he'd said for a moment. Apparently this Pien fellow was an idealist of sorts but at the moment he didn't seem to be any kind of a threat to Konoha.

"What exactly did you do with the Hozuki clan children?" Hiruzen asked hoping he hadn't left them in Ame although it was very likely considering Kakashi had been back for about a week now.

"I sort of left them to their own devices inside the Hatake household." Inu said hoping all his stuff wasn't destroyed by now.

"You left three foreign shinobi alone inside the village without supervision?" Hiruzen asked knowing that wasn't something Kakashi would likely do.

"I assigned five anbu to watch the house from a distance and ensure they didn't attempt anything that suspicious." Inu answered.

"You left them there instead of bringing them here because?" Hiruzen questioned wanting to hear his reasoning.

"Attempting to bring none pardoned foreign shinobi before the Hokage is an act of treason and I prefer not to be imprisoned and court marshalled. I'd have needed to allow the anbu or the police force to detain them for me while I came to get a pardon from you. The three are wary enough of these circumstances without their first impression of Konoha being from the inside of a prison cell."

The aged man nodded concluding he'd done the wisest thing he could've choosen to do. The three rogue Kiri shinobi must have been the reason Kakashi had been so adamant about delivering his mission report even though Hiruzen had blown it off twice already to deal with more pressing matters.

"And what of Hanzo's daughter, Yashiu? Did you leave her alive once you finished with your interrogation?" The Hokage asked knowing he'd probably done so since there'd been no need to kill her.

"I let her go and told her she was undertaking a fools suicide mission. Strength might be her core value but an intelligent shinobi is often the victor in our line of work. That she wasn't on Hanzo's level so she couldn't hope to kill the man who'd killed him."

Hiruzen nodded again agreeing with him. "How did she take to your words of advice?"

"They visibly had no effect. She proceeded to leave and me and the Hozuki siblings began making our way back towards the village."

Hiruzen looked thoughtful for a moment before he spoke. "Shame someone of her talents would rather die uselessly than to find something new to live for."

Inu stood still unfeeling about the situation. She wouldn't be the first or the last shinobi to foolishly die in battle because of pride. He recalled the mantra about pride he'd learned from an older shinobi when he was young and arrogant.

P-primary

R-reason

I-I

D-died

E-early

Pride was the father of arrogance and the herald of over confidence. A shinobi was supposed to have pride in their village and their abilities to serve it. Anything more or less would develope into a weakness of it's own.

"So these Hozuki siblings wish to become shinobi and a clan of Konoha?"

Inu nodded causing Satutobi to adopt a smile that was also a grin.

"I'll get started on that pardon immediately then."

 **Yeaah, not my best chapter.**

 _Dialogue_

 **Kasuf:** Yeah you could've done better.

 **Shy:** Shut uup! Stop telling me I could do better, I did my best!!!

 **Al Kabir:** *laughs*

 **Shy:** Shut up Kabir, I don't wanna hear it!!!!

 **Kasuf:** So I take it we aren't doing the end of chapter commentary abo-

 **Shy:** No Kasuf we aren't. Go read chapter 14 part 3 and get back to me.

 **Al Kabir:** Well someone's definitely cranky. Wake up on the wrong side of the bed did we?

 **Shy:** You do want to wake up on time for that game tomorrow right?

 **Al Kabir:** _*Sweats*_ Uhm...yeah I'd like that very much.

 **Shy:** I suggest you not bother me then.

 **Al Kabir:** _*Raises hands in defeat and slides out of the room nervously*_

 **Kasuf:** _*dies of later but discretely follows not wanting to be next*_


	16. Chapter 14

**I'm gonna** **go back to previous chapters and raise the ages of Naruto and the rest of the part one genin by a year. It's honestly bothering me slightly how young he is. I think five or six would be appropriate enough age but since he isn't starting the academy just yet five will do. I brought him into the story earlier than I intended as I started moving things along with less time skips than I originally intended so yeah, he'll be five nearing six at this point. All the other part one genin are just a year behind him or at the same age, sorry about that.**

 **WARNING, somewhat boring chapter ahead. Read it or risk being lost later in the story!**

 **WARNING, to the guest who constantly comments rude things. You're wasting your time trying to get to me again.**

 _The truth of the matter_

 **Two days later** - **Raikages chambers**

Aye woke up feeling very weird for some reason. He rubbed a hand through his head thoughtfully when the events of two days ago ran themselves through his head.

He snarled and let loose a roar of outraged that shook the very celling. He leapt out of the bed pulling the covers off with him and looked down wondering why he was naked, the answer stared back at him with a slightly flustered expression.

The Raikage had to admit, while he'd never been interested in Mabui before she looked absolutely stunning laying in his bed with her hair let down and drapped around her shoulders. The man's nose began bleeding and he hurriedly threw the blanket towards her and apologized for any appropriate behavior he may have committed while under the influence of whatever that kunochi had hit him with.

Mabui simply smiled and waved a dismissive hand wrapping herself in the blanket and moving towards his bathroom. Aye watched her go before quickly deciding he needed to speak with either Bee or Darui about how he'd been behaving the past two days considering anyone else would sugar coat it or avoid giving him details he didn't want to hear.

Figuring he'd shower later as his sexy anbu captain already had his occupied he threw on a pair of the usual kumo shinobi pants opting not to wear his rob as he hadn't yet cleaned himself up. The man walked to his window and activated his lightning cloak quickly taking off in the direction towards Bee's house.

He arrived a short while later not bothering to be discreet as he knocked considering a number of passing villagers had already noticed him. Quite a few women were blushing while sending him suggestive smiles he hoped were more out of routine than some recent action he'd undertook.

He knocked again wondering what the hell could be taking Bee so long.

"Hold up will ya! I'm coming fool, ya fool!"

He sighed at his brothers usual antics wishing he'd hurry up and come already when at last the door was flung open.

Bee looked slightly surprised to see his brother there but even more surprised to see the man wearing no shirt.

"Usually bro I would call myself the ladies man out of us two, but it's very obvious to me that without your shirt the ladies are digging you." Bee said poking his head out the door to wink at the staring women who's attention was quickly diverted from the Raikage to the smooth shinobi killer.

"This isn't the time for jokes Bee I need answers!" The man said pushing past his brother and going into his house to sit on the couch.

"I could sure say you needed some manners too considering that was rude, what the hell bite you in the butt and made u wake up with an attitude?" Bee said taking a seat on the sofa across from his brother.

"I was drugged Bee, during the last two days I wasn't myself at all and I need help recalling everything I can't exactly remember."

"Sit back and relax bro ease your mind, it could only do you better if you allowed yourself to unwind." Bee said pulling a cigar from the box on the table and lighting it.

"What exactly is it you remember about the past few days?" (I'm not going to have Bee rap constantly lol he's gotta be serious sometimes.)

"I...I remember coming home, I went to go talk to the council and I-" Aye looked troubled and Bee leaned forward offering him his own cigar which the man would have usually declined but decided to accept seeing as he really did need something to help him unwind.

Bee reached out over the table lighting Aye's cigar for him with a nice gold silver and red zippo lighter with cloud paterns.

"You went to go see the council and you demanded they write a letter of apology to Konoha and the Hyuga for all the bad blood of the past year or so." Bee said filling in one of the gaps.

Aye remembered the Hokage asking him to do such after the drug entered his system.

"And after that?" He asked knowing there to be more.

"Once the letters were written up you signed them personally before sending them off, a mighty mature gesture I might add."

Aye sighed bringing a hand down his face.

"And after that?" He asked hoping it didn't get any worse.

"You asked the council what they thought of an alliance with Konoha to which they looked completely shocked and some of them even appualed." Bee said chuckling as he recalled their reactions. "After a while though they said they'd consider it, honestly you were a lot more considerate of others and even much less intimidating in your drugged state." Bee said taking a drag from his cigar.

"This isn't a matter to play with Bee!" The Raikage snapped.

Bee resisted the urge to snicker at his brother but failed miserably.

"I'm sorry bro it was honestly a good show, I just gotta mess with you sometimes ya know."

"Anyway though, after that you called for a village assembly. Once all the villagers were gathered under the Raikage building you told them how appreciative you were of their hard work and dedication to Kumo, making the whole speech without a shirt I might add." Bee said laughing at his brother again.

"You told them as a show of appreciation you'd be lowering taxes for the next two weeks."

"I did what!?!?" Aye said more upset over that than anything else so far.

"Calm down bro, it'll only take from the military a bit. Not even enough to be felt. The citizens definitely appreciated the gesture. They're even throwing a big party for you at the end of the weak." Bee informed surprising the Raikage.

Apparently the worst thing he'd done in his drug induced state had been send an apology letter to Konoha and promoting the idea of an alliance with them to his council, but wait...

"Hold on a sec Bee, there has to be something else. Did I make any unwanted advances towards anyone?"

"Not that I know of...why would you ask a- oohhh.." Bee said smirking slyly at his brother.

"So who was the lucky lady who got my big bro to finally get his graps out of the dirt."

Aye frowned at his brothers way of wording the expression.

"It's supposed to be nuts out of the sand, Bee."

Bee's smirk only widened.

"I never said they were dirty or anything bro, probably just lonely."

"My genitals aren't you or anyone else's business Bee!"

"Yea besides that lady friend of yours!" Bee teased grinning at his brother.

"Did someone say genitals, do I even want to know?" Darui said coming in through the front door surprising the Raikage.

"I forgot you two shared a house for a moment, that's killing two birds with one stone I suppose."

"I'm sure that lady friend of yours killed your birds with one st-"

"Bee!" Aye said feeling slightly embarrassed about the whole subject considering who they were talking about.

"Sorry bro can't help it, Darui's been cramping my vibe since he moved in, everytime I'm about to get some action he's always home."

Darui raised an eyebrow at his house mate. "Aye man you're the one who told me how you hated being alone in this big ass house of yours. I can't help it if I'm usually home at the same time as you, and I live all the way on the other end of the house anyway don't let me ruin your fun."

"Being on the other end of the house won't help much, all of my woman are noisey lovers who love a good fu-."

"I think we're losing focus on the conversation here." Aye said interrupting his brother.

"Why doesn't that surprise me any?" Darui said sitting down and grabbing his own cigar from the box and lighting it with his own zippo.

"So boss man, what brings you to cassa de Darui Bee?"

"Hey! Who said your name gets to go first fool, ya fool!"

"Sounds better that way." Darui defended.

"Yea, but I pay more than half the rent, therefore it should be cassa de Bee Darui." Bee said with a victorious smirk.

"I hardly call sixty forty a big enough difference to matter."

"Guys!" Aye interrupted sighing when he had their attention.

"I swear you two act just like brothers."

"Who's the big bro?" The both asked similtaneously.

"I am." Aye said leaving no room for argument as no one could dispute that fact.

"To answer your question Darui I came because I needed filling in on what happened the two days I was drugged."

Darui recounted the same events as Bee did in the same order, apparently neither of them were aware of anything else he may have done.

"So what's up with that alliance with Konoha?" Darui asked curious.

Aye raised an eyebrow at the odd question. "What do you mean? It's obviously off now that I've come to my sense's."

"I think it'd be a good move to accept." Darui said surprising the Raikage.

Usually he wouldn't have listened to such nonesense from anyone else but Darui was his most trusted advisor for a reason so he asked him to elaborate on why he thought so.

"Well, obviously Konoha aren't fools considering they were able to find out about the plan and react accordingly. Not only that but with the way the battle was turning out before you were drugged all of us besides possibly you and Bee could've been killed in the fight."

"If Bee would've released the eight tails it would've killed nearly everyone in the vicinity besides you two and the Sannin. The Hokage wanted us to know that he could have killed us if he wanted but he actually didn't want to, he just wanted to send a message that Konoha is not to be messed with which I can respect. When that kunochi released that drug into the atmosphere no Konoha shinobi was affected by it. It could have just as easily been a posion powerful enough to kill you and Bee, if she can make drugs as complex as the one you were under posions shouldn't be that hard."

"Konoha isn't in the position it was a year or so ago, they've obviously recovered. Two days ago they even had a perfect chance to slay the leader of their greatest enemy and not only did they neglect to do so, but they went out of their way to come up with a peaceful alternative instead. I think that speaks wonders for what Konoha is all about, that Monogahi dude was right when he said the hidden leafs greatest value is peace."

"Their shinobi are strong but only for the sake of protecting others, they don't care about power for the sake of having it. Honestly I don't see anyone who could possibly be a better ally to Kumo."

Bee nodded his head crossing his arms as his face became serious.

"Honestly I've gotta agree with Darui here, towards the end of the battle I could easily sense defeat was near."

"The Konoha shinobi came more than prepared for our ambush but instead of taking advantage of the situation they defused it. The Hokage even ordered his shinobi not to kill ours while we were obviously out for blood, I gotta say I was really impressed by that as well as his shinobi's resolve to stick to that order. The Monogahi woman even healed our shinobi before releasing them. The hidden leaf village is strong and honorable, they've only ever sought peace with the other nations, I think forming an alliance with them wouldn't just be doing them a favor but it'd be doing us one too." Bee finished surprising both Darui and the Raikage. He usually didn't give his opinion on much even though he knew it was one of few people's opinions Aye actually valued.

"I suppose those are some great points the both of you make." He said rubbing his chin in thought.

"I suppose I will see what the council says about it and go from there."

"Oh yea boss man, how'd things go with Mabui?" Darui asked curiously.

"How do you know about that?" Aye asked wondering who else knew.

"Well anyone with eyes could tell she was always head over heels for you but apparently the effects of the drug opened you both up to one another."

"Oh she definitely opened up to him last night is she's the mystery gi-"

Bee was cut off as an annoyed Aye grabbed his face giving him his famous iron claw causing Bee to shout and try to escape his brothers grip frantically.

"I'll be using your shower since I'm already here." Aye said letting go of Bee and making his way upstairs.

 _"I suppose having some of my elite most shinobi beaten and being drugged wasn't so bad, we may not have gained a new kekkei genki but we have a new potiental ally I suppose. I have more adoration from the villagers than I had previously, a greater understanding of the hidden villages and there values, and perhaps a lover?"_

Darui started dying of laughter when he saw the red hand print on Bee's face. Bee turned around looking indignant at being laughed at. "Let's see how you like it fool, ya fool!"

Aye heard tussling downstairs and smiled to himself as he heard what sounded like chairs being thrown and glass breaking.

"Those idiots might as well be brothers."

 **Four** **months later**

Fugaku stared at the old man in front of him wondering if this was all really necessary. He had to admit it was nice to have the Uchiha clan finally be given credit for once, but this, all this was simply too much.

Upon arriving back at the village four months ago the Hokage called a meeting of the councils to explain all that had happened. A number of both civilian and shinobi council members alike had thought killing the Raikage would've proven to be a better decision than the one he chose, but after a bit of explaining the only person who stuck by that view was none other than Danzo Shimura.

Around a week after their returned they'd received apology letters from Kumo address to the Hyuga clan and the village council. Two weeks after that, and nearly a month after their return the entire council found themselves shocked when the Hokage informed them the Raikage and Kumo's council told them they were open to negotiations for an alliance with the hidden leaf.

Hiruzen had sent Shikaku and Jiriya along with a few civilian council members and various diplomats from the leaf village to take part in the negotiations. Something in his gut was telling him Kumo was actually serious about forming an alliance with them this time and this was an opportunity he'd be a fool to let slip considering he'd been pursuing this even before the nine tails attack.

Two months after that an alliance with acceptable terms for both villages was agreed upon. Jiriya and Shikaku had returned to the village a week after that and a celebration concerning the good news ensued among the villagers who felt more at ease than ever now knowing one of their greatest enemies was now possibly their greatest ally.

After three more weeks had passed and the agreement was finally signed by both parties Hiruzen had started the preparation for another celebration in honor of those responsible for this fortunate turn of events.

At the moment he was giving a speech about how the parties involved made sure not to harm their enemies and allowed them to see the hidden leaf in a brighter light than they had previously.

"So it is with great pride and gratitude that I'd like to name the shinobi who ensured the meeting between our villages didn't result in another shinobi war."

"Firstly I'd like to thank the Yamanaka clan, who's illusion creating capabilities allowed us to set a complex trap around the battlefield without the ninja from Kumo noticing anything amiss. Please be so kind as to give a round of applause for Inoichi Yamanaka!" The Hokage called as the man stepped forward from beside Fugaku to smile and wave at the villagers who clapped and cheered for the blonde.

"Secondly I'd like to thank the Monogahi clan for their assistance during the battle, and I'd like to extend a personal thanks to Yukushia Monogahi who's plant spores effectively ended the conflict and may have even been responsible for Kumo taking an agreement for an alliance into consideration." Hiruzen said as the woman stepped forward and blushed lightly as the crowd cheered wildly for her.

"Next I'd like to thank the Uchiha clan and extend personal thanks to Hatsue and Fugaku Uchiha, who kept enemy reinforcements from aiding their leader, and managed to disable twenty enemy anbu without a single injury on either side!"

Fugaku was shocked as the crowd started cheering wildly for them before they even came to stand beside the Hokage.

Word of what had happened that day quickly spread to all corners of the world as the Raikage's men who'd fallen under the effect of Yukushia's drug found loose tongues to be a side effect. Fugaku had noticed the Uchiha's popularity go up inside the village but he was shocked to see it'd risen this much.

He continually told people it was Hatsue Uchiha who was responsible for disabling the Kumo anbu but it seemed everyone was much more content to credit their entire clan with more than half the missions success. He thought it might have something to do with Nubutaka and Inoichi down playing their clans role, for what reason though he didn't know.

He smiled stepping up along side Hatsue and waving at the crowd, Konoha no longer seemed to be rejecting the Uchiha and for that he was grateful.

Hiruzen cleared his throat after a moment waiting for the applause to die down and turned to Fugaku, beckoning him forward to stand at his side. The clan head complied with his leaders orders wondering exactly what the Hokage was beckoning him nearer for as Hatsue really deserved more credit than he did. Hiruzen smiled at the man before turning to address the crowd.

"For a long time since the last shinobi war it has bothered me that Fugaku Uchiha's contribution went unnoticed, and that the man was never given the credit he deserved." The Hokage said startling Fugaku and the other Uchiha present.

"I'd like to take this moment while we're all gathered here to set the record straight. Fugaku Uchiha's efforts in the war were not even second to, but were on pair with the efforts of Minato Namikaze our beloved fourth Hokage."

Murmers of shock and surprise could be heard from below as very few people in the village had known anyone had contributed even half as much as the fourth did.

"The name Fugaku wicked eyes Uchiha brought just as much fear to foreign shinobi during the war as the monkier The Yellow Flash did, but for reasons that still aren't exactly clear to me to me a few members of the village council made efforts to supress and lock away this information." Hiruzen said again turning to face Fugaku

"I cannot continue claiming to be a fair leader knowing of this injustice. The man you see before you is just as much of a war hero as Minato was during his time among us. I do hope that he will continue to serve Konoha to the best of his abilities. Providing the younger generation of shinobi with a shinning example to look upon, and our residents of the village with a safe place to lay their heads at night in comfort." The man said moving away from the podium and clapping for the man as the villagers followed his lead.

Pretty soon there was a chorus of people chanting Fugaku while others clapped and cheered for the man, some people even sheeding tears at knowing the village had another shinobi like Minato who'd been serving them in silence all along.

Fugaku gripped the stand hard and tried to restrain the tears in his eyes but falling as two drops ended up falling to the ground anyway. He looked to the villagers around him and felt a love the likes of which he'd only ever felt when with his family. He exhaled deeply smiling at the kind people before his face morphed back into the same look of seriousness it always displayed.

"While I must thank the Hokage for his kind words and acknowledgement of my contributions, I am no hero. I also cannot claim to be half the man or shinobi Minato Namikaze was."

"The fourth Hokage was a shinobi with no equal who gave his life to protect all that he loved. It is a great honor to find myself compared to a man of such conviction but I doubt I could ever live up to his name as he was a true hero. To other villages I may be know as something of a war hero but here I'd prefer to be known as Fugaku Uchiha, a man who fought for my village just as any other shinobi. Those who give the ultimate sacrifice, those who die on the battlefield...those are the real hero's." Fugaku said recalling the day he'd awakened his mangekeyo sharingan.

"I am no more of a hero than all other shinobi who answer the call of battle, and I do not wish to be acknowledged as such. It is my greatest honor to fight for this village, and I will continue to do so until I find myself on the losing end of some foreign shinobi's justu or kunai...or until I am no longer able to do so in my old age. I thank you all for your kindness and admiration, but I am not deserving of it. Please save your affections for the shinobi who's names are engraved on the monuments around the village, for they are the true hero's of the village and much more deserving of it than myself." The man said hoping wherever his friend was he would hear him addressing the village and he'd be proud.

The villagers errupted into a symphony of wild cheers and applause at Fugaku's speech which seemingly only earned him more admiration from the villagers.

He spared them a small smile and moved back to his place in line looking at the crowd and seeing more than a couple of teary eyes.

Hiruzen closed out his speech lastly giving thanks to the anbu who participated in the battle, thanking the citizens for their kindness and wishing them a joyful celebration.

"That was a wonderful speech." He remarked turning to face Fugaku.

The Uchiha shrugged knowing it'd come from the heart and being surprised he'd actually reacted in such a manner.

"Indeed it was a beautiful speech Fugaku sama." Hatsue commented earning her a nod as Fugaku wasn't really used to speaking with emotion and in all honesty he'd surprised himself.

"Quite the speech indeed, don't tell me you're going soft on us Fugaku teary eyes Uchiha!" Inoichi said putting his arm around the man's shoulder and putting him in a playful head lock.

Much to Hiruzen and Hatsue's surprise the man smiled at his friends antics as the two began play fighting and bickering with each other.

 **Inside the crowd**

"Hehe, your dad was crying Itachi." Shisui teased as he and his companions made their way through the large crowd.

"I'm going to tell him you said that." The long Raven haired Uchiha boy answered back.

Shisui paled at his words. "H-Hey Itachi, I was just kidding!"

"Try telling that too my father." Itachi answered back resisting the urge to laugh at Shisui's terrified expression.

The shorter haired Uchiha wasn't so lucky though as Hamura had no such restraint and burst into a fit of laughter.

"Cut the guy some slack Itachi, he looks ready to wet himself."

Shisui scowled at the boys comment. "Hey man! You try having a clan head like Itachi's dad and see if he doesn't scare you sometimes!"

"Nubutaka can get pretty scary when he wants to." Hamura defended.

"Yea right, your brothers always all sunshine and giggles." Shisui said having never seen the man in a bad mood.

"Oh yeah...you really think so?"

"I know so."

Hamura smirked at his teammate. "Try taking his sword one day then, and watch how scary he gets. I bet you won't."

"Pffft, I bet I will."

"Oh yea? How's about we go do it now while he's here at the festival? Let's also intentionally leave some evidence behind so he knows it was you."

"Fine let's go!" Shisui said wanting to prove he wasn't scared or intimidated by the prospect of an angry Nubutaka.

Itachi sighed knowing what Hamura was doing but decided to let Shisui learn his own lessons.

"You shouldn't let people set you up so easily Shisui." The voice of their sensei said coming from one of the food stalls lining the busy street.

"Sensei, what are you doing back there?" Hamura asked thinking whatever it was more than likely it involved sleep.

"Following you brats to see how long it'd take you to notice me. Apparently Itachi's the only one of you who's on guard at the moment." Shikono said sounding disappointed.

"Why would we need to be on guard in the middle of a festival?" Shisui asked confused.

Shikono opened his mouth to reply but found himself cut off by Itachi.

"A shinobi must be on guard and prepared for battle at all times." The Uchiha said taking that quote directly from the shinobi hand book on survival.

"Yes, but they must also know how to unwind sometimes too." Shikono said sending Itachi a pointed look.

"I think you do more than enough of that for all three of us sensei." The Uchiha replied.

"Maybe, but more is usually better."

"Come on sensei, I'm pretty sure shinobi aren't literally always on guard." Shisui said finding the concept of all shinobi constantly looking over their shoulders even in their own homes to be a little too much.

"Have you ever caught me off guard?" He asked knowing his genin already knew the answer to that question.

Shisui and Hamura both thought about it for a moment realizing they hadn't. Hamura realized he'd never once caught his brother off guard either, not even when he was seemingly asleep.

"How's about a team excersise?" Shikono suggested causing Shisui and Hamura to groan.

"Come on sensei!" Hamura yelled.

"There's a festival going on and you want us to train, talk about overkill! Can we all just take cat naps instead?" Shisui said attempting to reason with the man.

Shikono developed a tick mark at his students attitudes.

"I'm not talking about physical excersise you lazy brats. I mean something that'll help you realize just how little real shinobi let their guard down."

Itachi found it highly ironic their sensei had actually called someone else lazy. _"I think his habits might just be rubbing off_ _on them."_

Shisui and Hamura both nodded wondering what he had in mind as Itachi got a bad feeling in his gut.

"You two will attempt to catch Itachi off guard for the rest of the week and come back and let me know if you ever succeed."

Itachi groaned this time. "I don't think I like this excersis sensei."

"Too bad kid, Hamura and Shisui already look like their all for it and they could definitely learn a thing or two from it." Shikono said with an evil smirk.

"Please reconsider this Shikono sensei. The last thing I need is to be tailed by the Uchiha flash and the one armed wonder, these two already annoy me enough."

"Hey!" The two shouted indignant to their nicknames as well as his other statement.

"Are you guys gonna ever let me live that down? It's been six months already!" Shisui said promising payback.

"It's not my fault I ended up without the use of my right arm for a month because I was tryna save your asses! Next time I'll just let the rogue nin through since you're oh so grateful for my sacrifice Itachi!" Hamura shouted not really meaning what he said.

The Uchiha boy simply smiled loving when he was the one annoying the other two instead of the usual dynamic.

Shikono was behind them laughing at the nicknames causing the two to turn and frown at their sensei as well considering he was supposed to be the mature person out of the group.

A few streets over Nubutaka was walking with Jiriya and Naruto, both men watching the boy rush back and forth between stand after stand wondering just how he expended so much energy and never seemed to exhaust himself.

"Do you think it was really a good idea giving him your wallet? I'm pretty sure he's gonna eat at least one dish from every food vendor participating in the festival."

Jiriya shrugged. "Kids been training hard the past few months and studying harder. I think seeing so many talented kids who're only a few years ahead of him is pushing him to become an even better ninja than he originally dreamed of, he deserves a reward."

"Don't let Hatsue or Tsunade know you're just letting him eat anything without putting any kind of emphasis on healthy foods." Nubutaka said smiling as he watched the blonde sit down at another food stall with an excited grin.

"If it were to come to that I'd just say the kid tricked me into giving him my wallet, and he was so adorable I couldn't possibly take it back."

Nubutaka laughed at the man's comment shooting him a questioning gaze. "That might work for Hatsue but I doubt Tsunade wouldn't see right through you."

"Well I could always run if Tsunade hime found out." Jiriya said grinning at the thought of the woman throwing a tantrum at him.

She'd been acting weird lately and seemingly even avoiding him. He was starting to miss his teammate even though she hadn't went anywhere.

"Speaking of which where's Lady Tsunade anyway?" Nubutaka asked curiously, surprised they weren't attending the festival as one big group.

"Beats me, although I'm pretty sure whenever she is her shadow isn't very far behind her."

"Huh?" Nubutaka asked tilting his head at the man's statement. If one could disconnect from their shadow surely he had no idea how.

Jiriya caught his look and laughed a bit before explaining it was an expression.

"So by her shadow you mean Lilly?"

"Yup."

Nubutaka grinned finally understanding what he was saying. Jiriya looked at the man curiously wondering why he sometimes seemed to be impressed or gain entertainment from the simplest of things.

"So I guess that would make Naruto your shadow then since he's always with you?"

Jiriya shook his head no as there was more to it than that.

"While you could say that, it wouldn't exactly hold true as Naruto is with me a lot but he isn't with me everywhere I go and he doesn't follow me around as if he was glued to me. He's more like... excess baggage."

"Hey!"

The two turned to see the blonde stuffing some foreign substance they'd never seen or smelled, likely a dish belonging to Kumo, into his mouth.

"I heard that super spikey haired toad sensei! You know you love having me around, don't deny it!"

"Wouldn't wanna hurt your feelings kid." Jiriya said joking with the intelligent young blonde.

"They will be if you guys don't sit down and try some of this stuff, it's really awesome!"

Jiriya and Nubutaka smiled joining Naruto at the stall and each ordering one of whatever it was he was having.

 **Underground NEE facility**

"Come on sensei!" Anko pleaded with the snake man.

"I've already told you five times my dear...no."

"But I really want to introduce you to my friends, and Imari and Inoha are practically dying to meet you! You're not a regular NEE opperative, I don't even think you're a part of NEE period! I don't see why you won't come to the festival with me." Anko huffed feeling both fustrated and upset with her teacher.

Orochimaru merly chuckled at the girl and continued cutting open the unconscious man who lay on his table.

"There is a reason you were forbidden to speak of me to others Anko." He said turning to survey his angry student momentarily.

"As smart as you are I'm surprised you haven't already figured it out. I'll be sure to tell you later though as it's time you learned. Go take part in the festival and enjoy yourself my little Willow, my presence is of no consequence to you."

Anko fumed wanting to argue further but her sensei's common place smile was replaced with a stotic look of concentration on the task at hand. She could tell his mind was somewhere else and he'd make her leave if she continued to pester him.

She didn't like upsetting her sensei, not because he could scary but oddly enough the man felt like something of a father to her. Sure she had Danzo but she knew she was nothing but a tool to the man, a means to certain ends and something of an enigma he still had yet to fully understand.

Orochimaru saw her for more than what she had to offer him, or so she liked to think. The man constantly talked about helping her to reach her full potiental, he was always teaching her new things. Expressing delight when she managed to impress him, complementing her when she did something right and reprimanding her when she'd do something wrong.

His training could be harsh at times but not nearly as harsh as the beatings she'd received from 122. He even expressed concern when she was hurt and allowed her to rest rather than insulting her for her weakness. He would smile at her affectionately telling her he found her antics cute sometimes and before she'd known it she found she'd begun to look at the man with something akin to what she felt for Imari and Inoha.

She was still more than grateful to Danzo for giving her the life she had now but the man was nothing of a father to her and Orochimaru practically was everything she'd ever dreamed of having in a father figure.

She sighed loudly hating that the man seemed to be keeping his identity a secret from everyone, and moved to the door ready to exit the lab and head to the festival as she'd gotten dressed ahead of time.

"I almost forgot to tell you Anko chan, you look rather adorable in that kimono. Danzo's servants have excellent taste, it does a lovely job of bringing out the beauty in your hair and eyes. Do enjoy yourself my little flower, and remember to mind your manners while you're out there."

She wanted to frown but she found herself smiling instead as she nodded and told her sensei she would try.

"Remember not to rush your research sensei, you may miss something important you've been looking for and good luck." She said leaving the room and letting the door screech shut.

Orochimaru smirked at her advice wondering how she'd known he was in a rush to complete his research. Danzo's research had been relatively easy but he was so close to what it was he wanted his mouth nearly watered at the thought of his break through.

 **Shimura compond**

Imari and Inoha looked up upon hearing the door to their room open expecting their sister and being half right when Hatsue stepped inside and took notice of the girls looking more than ready to head to the festival.

"Hatsue Nee chan!" The twins called unison greeting the woman with cheery smiles.

"Hey little sisters! I'm surprised you two are still here."

"Huh? What brought you here then Nee chan?" Inoha asked looking at Hatsue curiously.

"I needed somewhere to change and your compond is conviently located a short distance away from the Hokage tower." Hatsue answered as she began unbuttoning her shinobi vest.

"What are you girls waiting for?" She asked already in the process of getting undressed as she'd already taken her clothes for the festival out of the bag.

"Anko Nee chan." Imari huffed sounding impatient.

"Where'd she go?" Hatsue asked curious as to why she'd keep the twins waiting.

"She said she was going to go see if her sensei wanted to come." Inoha answered sounding more patient than her sister.

Hatsue frowned for a moment wondering who in NEE could possibly be seen as anything more than a simple trainer or instructor. She decided not to think on it too much as she could just ask the girl later.

After putting on her kimono Hatsue wrapped and placed a number of golden pins in her hair to keep it from falling. She looked to twins and noticed only Inoha had her hair up.

"How come no one wrapped your hair up for you Imari?"

She looked slightly surprised by the question as if she wasn't expecting it or had forgotten her hair wasn't done up.

"She wouldn't let the servants do it for her and they got tired of trying." Inoha answered for her.

"Shut up Inoha!"

Hatsue chuckled as the two started bickering and went to the servants quarters to retrieve some more pins.

Tsunade was walking with Shizune and the kids when she decided to slip off hearing enough of the constant oows and ahhs and pleads for something new whenever they saw something new. Which was nearly every second. She knew Shizune didn't mind at all and would be more than capable of handling the brats so she'd just slipped away at her earliest convenience and began making her way towards the nearest bar noticing she was being followed a short while afterwards.

She stopped and turned around seeing no one who stood out among the festive crowd of shinobi and civilians who seemed to be enjoying the celebration. She turned back around knowing someone was following her and whoever it was they at least had decent skills of stealth.

She turned the next corner and leapt to the nearest roof top waiting for her stalker. She wasn't surprised when she saw Jusino turn the corner carrying Lilly on his back. Upon noticing she disappered the boy quickly turned around knowing they'd been discovered and prepared to bolt back around the corner when Tsunade landed in front of him raising an eyebrow and shooting him and Lilly a questioning gaze.

"Lilly wanted to know where you were off to so I decided we'd follow you." He said answering her unspoken question.

"Well you brats can't go inside the bar with me, but I suppose after I get a drink or two we can tour some of these stalls." Tsunade said realizing she was developing a fondness for the two.

Lilly had awakened her chakra and was now in the process of learning how to channel and use it under Tsunade's instruction. While Jusino was proving himself to be a pretty competent genin hopeful even though he'd started late, the boys experience on the streets seemed to give him an edge most kids who enrolled at the academy didn't have.

She routinely had conversations with the boy finding she always found herself impressed with his intelligence.

Not too far away Neji was walking a short distance behind his father who was walking with his brother Hiashi and Hiashi's wife Hiaku. The three were smiling as they talked among each other and Neji walked behind them with his cousin in an awkward silence.

A part of him told himself she was a privileged member of the main branch, they had nothing in common and their lives were completely different. He had no reason to talk to this girl and nor did he want to. Then there was a more reasonable voice inside his head telling him that the girl was obviously shy, she was his cousin and like him she was a Hyuga. They'd spoken before but it had always just been casual greetings and nothing more.

From what he knew the elders weren't very fond of the girl as she seemed far too timid to be a Hyuga let alone an hieres. He sighed knowing Nubutaka and the others would frown upon him if they knew he was ignoring this girl when it was pretty obvious she was in need of a friend.

He opened his mouth ready to ask if she had any hobbies, freezing before he spoke when he saw a familiar head of blonde hair at a food stall they were approaching.

Sure enough once they got closer he could see the boy fully along with his sensei and the man he knew to be Naruto's legal guardian, Jiriya of the Sannin.

"Nubutaka san, Lord Jiriya." Hiashi said bowing politely to the men.

"Hiashi san, so nice to see you again. I must say you and your brother look just alike." Nubutaka said standing to return the bow and extending his hand to shake Hizashi's in a first time greeting.

"So nice to finally meet the man who's teaching my son." Hizashi said shaking the man's hand and returning the friendly smile.

"So nice to meet the man responsible for fathering this little bundle of genius." Nubutaka said directing a grin towards Neji.

Jiriya was already engaged in a friendly conversation with Hiashi and Hiaku at the moment while Hinata stared at Naruto in surprise having never expected to see the blonde again.

"Genius you say?" Hizashi asked looking at Neji with curiousity.

"Indeed, Neji picks up on things much quicker than most people. He even won a few spars against my little brother and the Uchiha prodigies thanks to his cunning. He even managed to beat Hatsue once."

"Is that so!" Hizashi said giving Neji the brightest grin one could expect from a proud parent. "That's my boy! Neji the genius shinobi hopeful! Beating actual shinobi who have actual field experience!"

"Nubutaka sensei is just making it out to be more than what it seems." An embarrassed Neji said avoiding eye contact with his excited father.

While Jiriya talked and laughed with Hiashi and Hiaku about much older and wilder times, and Nubutaka and Hiashi talked about Neji's progress. Hinata stood having a conversation in her head, attempting to convince herself to thank the boy for saving her but keeping herself from doing so afraid that he'd be mad she didn't run and had let him get beaten up by those bullies.

Neji noticed her stare and wondered what connection she had to Naruto.

Wanting to find out he subtly made his way over to stand behind his cousin. "Good to see you Naruto." He called shocking the Hyuga hieress and bringing her back to reality.

Naruto turned away from his food and gave Neji a huge grin waving a hand in greetings towards the Hyuga.

"Likewise Neji! I wasn't expecting to see you at the festival."

"Same here, I'd have rather spent the day training honestly but my father and uncle insisted I accompany them, but before I forget my manners allow me to introduce you to my cousin Lady Hinata Hyuga."

Hinata felt herself began shaking involuntarily as her nerves were jumbled and she wondered how the boy would react. Would he be mad, pretend not to notice her, frown or tell her off?

He looked at her thoughtfully before smiling as his eyes filled with recognition.

"I remember you! You're that girl with the cute eyes those guys were attacking that day. Nice to finally meet you Hinata chan!" Naruto said grinning in a friendly manner and minding his manners around new people as Tsunade constantly reminded him of doing.

"Y-Y-You too! N-Naruto kun!" Hinata stammered wondering why her face was heating up and her heart rate picked up.

 _"He remembers but he doesn't hate me, and he called my eyes cute.."_ Hinata thought feeling a new wave of emotion concerning the boy other than just gratitude and misplaced fear.

Neji raised an eyebrow at the boys comment wondering if Naruto felt as if all Hyuga had attractive eyes or if it was something about the way Hinata's were shaped.

"What do you mean by she has cute eyes Naruto?"

The blonde looked up from the food he just couldn't seem to ignore swallowing a mouthful again and grinning before pointing to Hinata and answering.

"I'm used to looking at people and being able to kind of see what they think or what kind of people they are, since most of the villagers never talked to me and a I needed a way of finding out which shop owners would let me buy from them."

"Hinata chans eyes are cute because on that day they held a lot of compassion and concern even though I know more than anything she was scared. That says that she's really a nice person and she cares a lot about other people. Plus her eyes are different from yours Neji, there's a deeper shade of purple in them and they're pretty big, I think that's kind of cute." The boy chuckled innocently going back to his food completely unaware of the dark red blush forming on the young Hyuga girls cheeks.

Neji wondered if he was the only genius besides Hatsue and Itachi who trained with Nubutaka.

Everyone was a genius in their own way as Hatsue was a genius when it came to ninja wiring techniques, Itachi was a genius when it came to planning and tactics, and Neji was a genius when it came to picking up quickly on things. Maybe Naruto was a genius when it came to people.

Hatsue certainly seemed to think he had a gift for helping and bringing joy to others as she certainly made clear when casually reffering to him as her angel sometimes.

Neji could say he'd even received help from the boy as one day when he'd been in a particularly bad mood after struggling over and over again with the same kata, the blonde approached him and said at least you aren't a screw up like Hamura when it comes to kenjustu practice.

Hamura being only a short distance away had heard the blondes insult and yelled an indignant 'Hey!' causing Neji to chuckle with Naruto feeling that one action lighten his mood.

With the boys seemingly endless chakra reserves and his easy understanding of people Neji saw him being an excellent, maybe even extrodinary shinobi sometime in the future. He'd likely end up helping a lot of people if he kept on the path he walked, hopefully he didn't end up becoming a rogue nin for a reason of any kind as an older well trained Naruto with more insight into people than what he had now would be a very dangerous foe.

 **Tsunade's group**

"There's something I always wondered." Jusino said asking the Sannin for permission to ask a personal question without really asking.

"Fire away kid." She said glancing at the festival taking place on the streets below as they sat on a roof watching Lilly feed somebody's birds.

"You like being alone and I can tell you don't really like being around kids much, so why do you bother living with us when you have enough money to move out?"

Tsunade smirked handing Lilly some more bread which she began breaking and feeding to the birds in the cope.

"I've lived with Shizune for over ten years now, living by myself wouldn't feel right. Plus Naruto and Jiriya are always coming to visit you two anyway so it's easier for me to see my nephew and my old teammate." She said hating how her heart fluttered slightly when she thought of Jiriya lately.

It irritated her to no end how the two hadn't seen each other in years and now all of a sudden she found her former stalker to be an intelligent, strong and attractive shinobi who still possessed all of his old perverted habits. The very thought of the man peeking in on the woman's onsen made her develop a tic mark as she felt the urge to punch something.

"Makes sense." Jusino said going back to watching Lilly with Tsunade.

Tsunade felt something fast approaching their position and turned to notice four figures leaping across the roof tops towards them at the speed of your average shinobi. She turned placing a hand on a now tense Jusino pleased that he'd felt it as well, the boy would make a fine shinobi someday.

"Greetings Tsunade sama, it's quite surprising to see you sitting up here instead of down below enjoying the festival." The first of the four said landing near them on the roof.

"I gotta say I'm surprised to see you up here as well, the only people I expected to be on the roofs today with all the merry making in the streets are anbu. I'm really surprised you all can move so well in those things." Tsunade said referring to the kimmo's Hatsue and the three girls who were with her had on.

"A lot of civilians and even some ninja are treating Hatsue nee like a celebrity, so we had to take the roofs." Imari answered earning a nod of understanding from Tsunade.

"But what about the kimono's?" She asked unwilling to have that question go unanswered.

"Nee chan makes us train in these sometimes to improve or situational combat abilities." Inoha answered smiling per her usual, and looking at the children behind Tsunade curiously.

"That's actually a pretty good way to train them." Tsunade remarked giving Hatsue a nod of approval.

"I didn't know you had a daughter Tsunade sama, is lord Jiriya her father or something." Imari said pointing to Lilly.

Tsunade followed her finger and wondered how in the past few months they'd been occasionally coming to the house to play with Naruto and the others they'd never noticed Lilly. Then again when she thought about it a small blonde girl sitting by herself didn't really draw much attention from other kids when they were playing with other kids.

The part about Jiriya caught her off guard though, especially when she looked at the girl and noticed if her and Jiriya really were to have a child they'd look something like Lilly.

The girls hair was long, flowing all the way down her back like her fellow Sannins did, but was smooth like hers. The nearly white shade of faded blonde would be considered by some to be a perfect mix of Tsunade's faded blonde and Jiriya's stark white, more than a few strands of hair on the girls head were so faded they actually appeared to be white, although one would notice they were blonde if they looked closely enough.

"As if I'd ever have a child with Jiriya of all people!" Tsunade replied feeling slightly offended by the girls assumption.

"O-Oh...sorry Tsunade sama. She just looked like she could be a mix of you and Jiriya sama."

"She's actually my student, her bones are very thin so I'm teaching her how to enhance her bodies capabilities with chakra control. Her name is Lilly."

Inoha and Imari smiled at the information and rushed pass Tsunade taking only a moment to greet Jusino, quickly greeting the shy girl and telling her she had pretty hair. Hatsue chuckled to herself wondering if the twins thought everyone had pretty hair.

Anko looked at Jusino who was watching the girls interact with Lilly.

Anko stood beside Hatsue and looked at Tsunade and Lilly again wondering if the Sannin was sure that wasn't her daughter.

"So where are you three headed to?" Tsunade asked curious as to why they were using the roofs for travel.

"We don't know honestly, we were looking for the others so we decided to use the roofs since it's faster and we can see better."

Tsunade nodded at the Uchiha's answer and closed her eyes sending a small pulse of chakra into the air that spread out and traveled up to a wide range. Most medical nin had good sensory abilities too since sometimes injures could be internal or even metaphysical since chakra networks weren't exactly physical in nature. Tsunade was no exception to this and while she couldn't claim to be among the best of sensory nin she was still pretty decent.

"Your husband to be is in that direction with your little blonde angel and the smut author, there's a few Hyuga with them too." Tsunade said pointing northwest towards a large street filled with food vendors.

"Nubutaka and I aren't engaged?" Hatsue said looking puzzled and feeling her face warm up.

Tsunade smirked at the woman's expression finding teasing her to be an irresistible past time.

"Could have fooled me with the way you two are always all over each other. Have you guys done the dirty deed yet?"

Hatsue's blush deepened and she looked away pretending as if she hadn't heard the Sannin.

"Not yet huh, he's probably waiting till he marries you or something. That man is a true gentleman, most will try getting in your pants right after they ask you for your name, sometimes that's the only reason they even bother asking."

"I don't think this conversation is appropriate considering there are children present." Hatsue said hoping to switch subjects.

"Oh please, these two may be innocent but their eyes and ears have likely seen and heard enough to know what we're talking about."

Niether Anko nor Jusino commented on Tsunade's words but she was right. Jusino had asked one of the older boys from another street gang about the young woman who were practically still girls always standing in front of certain bars and hotels in revealing clothes. Much to his horror the boy had spared him no details about most of the whys and hows concerning them being there. It was one of the reasons he'd taken in Lilly knowing a gang was only as strong as it's weakest members.

Anko knew what sex was because her mother made sure she explained it to her early in life. Upon finding out she was pregnant she'd run away and had Anko, on her fifth birthday her mother finally explained to her why they were always hiding. The woman was a prostitute but the man Jugo treated his escorts as little more than sex slaves, she explained to Anko exactly why he'd be coming for both of them one day.

Hatsue observed the uncaring and unchanged demeanor of the two and figured she was probably right but she still wanted to get off this subject.

"Would you like to accompany us to the festival?"

"I'll pass, I just escaped from a bunch of brats, I don't need a few more added to my traveling party."

"I'll buy you some more sake."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow at the woman and shook her sake bottle realizing it was almost empty.

 _"Damn you for knowing my weakness Uchiha."_

"Fine, but none of the cheap stuff."

"Of course not." Hatsue grinned.

 **The festivals food vendor area**

"So, you never did tell me what the twenty man anbu mission was about?"

Kakashi looked to Amaris and realized he hadn't, they'd just finished discussing the latest missions she'd underwent but as anbu captain Kakashi wasn't exactly at liberty to recall some of the missions he took. He did promise her would tell her about that one though.

"Well where to begin..." He thought aloud recalling the day he'd been tasked with organizing a makeshift raid on the land of lightnings smaller villages.

"The Hokage wanted to send a message to Kumo concerning the leaf villages current level of strength. I was tasked with putting together a unit of elite anbu who were skilled enough to infiltrate the land of lightning without raising any alarms, we were ordered to sack a few civilian villages important to the countries economy."

"You did what Kakashi?!"

"What, no Mask kun?" Kakashi asked slightly amused.

"I'm being serious right now baka! You could've ended up starting a war but nevermind that! Why would you leave on such a dangerous mission without telling me first and at least saying goodbye?"

Kakashi turned to look directly at Amaris and stopped walking when he saw anger in her gaze, but behind that he saw worry and something else he couldn't quite discern.

"It wasn't a real raid of any kind, I only took elite anbu with me because we were told not to kill anyone or cause any property damage if we could help it. With our intel pertaining to their shinobi patrol routes and their villages defense's there was never really any real danger." The anbu said attempting to calm the kunochi.

He'd never seen Amaris this upset before or even upset at all and it made him appreciate the woman's upbeat personality more.

"I don't care Kakashi, the fact is you could have died and I'd have never even known or gotten to say goodbye!" She yelled in an accusatory tone turning to walk away startling the silver haired nin accompanying her who'd never known Amaris to act this way.

He reached out to grab her wrist but she shook it off turning around and shooting him a fierce glare.

"Don't touch me!" She growled turning and walking away from him again.

"Amaris.." Kakashi called really wishing he'd known why she was so upset. Dangerous missions were the usual for anbu and he'd only been doing his duty to the village, what he had sworn and was expected to do.

Amaris didn't know why but something in the man's voice made her stop. She balled her fist and attempted to continue walking away but she couldn't, not when he'd called her name in such a way. She'd never known her mask kun could place such desperation in one word uttering her name like a spoken prayer, it was really obvious he wanted her to stay but she didn't know if she really wanted to at this point.

She felt his hand find hers but stood just as she was with her eyes looking forward wanting to look at anything besides Kakashi.

He stepped around her and found himself shocked when he noticed the kunochi's eyes no longer held their former anger but were now overrun with a moderate amount of sadness and a modest amount of tears. Amaris didn't look at him, her eyes did but her soul wasn't. She was looking past him or at least attempting to, it was really hard to have the thing that appealed to you more than anything else in front of your face and ignore it.

Kakashi noticed but didn't care he was just grateful she wasn't storming off.

"Amaris, what's wrong?"

Some of the anger from earlier reappeared as her eyes meant his and she pulled her hand away to fix him with a frown that was somehow still sad underneath the anger.

"I'll tell you what's wrong Kakashi, since now you actually seem to care. Since I meant you in Darsula village two years ago I've been taken with you since our first meeting. I'm not the kind of person who believes in love at first sight but what can I say, when I saw you I was instantly smitten. I spend most of my days thinking about you and hoping you're alright, I'm constantly wondering if you feel and care about me how I care and feel about you and while I always knew I'd be hurt if you didn't I at least thought we were good friends."

"Come to find out a few months ago you accepted a mission only given to shinobi during war times, and you couldn't even tell me goodbye just incase you weren't coming back! It lets me know just how wrong I was to assume I was anything more than a casual acquaintance or an annoying stalker to you and honestly, I'm not alright with that." She said pulling her hand from his again and turning to leave.

"You couldn't be any further from the truth if you were running from it." Kakashi said stopping the woman in her tracks yet again.

"What?" She said turning to look at him questioningly.

"Ever since our second meeting in the village I found myself thinking more often of you than is normal for me to think about anyone. You have no idea the kind of effect you have on me. The only other person in the leaf village who can make me happy by just being around is Naruto, and if anything besides Gai I'd consider you my best friend. I admire you as a kunochi you're strong beautiful intelligent and kind, as a woman I'm even more attracted to who you are. You're funny caring empathetic and have a beautiful personality. I don't tell you when I'm going on dangerous missions because every mission I take involves at least moderate danger, and I honestly didn't think you would care so much to know."

Amaris was silent giving him no visible qeue stating she'd actually heard what the man was telling her.

Kakashi did the only thing left to convey how he felt and kissed the woman.

Amaris didn't know how to react at first, she'd still been processing all that Kakashi had said but after a moment she returned the affection as her heart seemed to speed up to a hundred beats per second.

There was a chorus of awwws and delighted squeals around the two and they both realized that during their little squabble they'd drawn a bit of attention. Niether of them cared at the moment as Amaris felt to be flying amongst the clouds and Kakashi felt a feeling rush through his system that was twice as satisfying as what he usually felt upon completing a difficult mission.

The two separated and stared at each other for a moment before Kakashi went to open his mouth and found himself shushed by the kunochi placing a finger to his lips.

"I think I know what you're about to say, that your duties as anbu captain won't permit us the time to pursue a relationship where we get to spend that much time with each other right?"

Kakashi was shocked she seemed to already have his thoughts figured out and nodded his head.

"I'd already taken that into consideration over a year ago and I'm perfectly fine with that but I'm not unfair. If you'd rather not pursue a relationship with me at the moment due to your career I won't make you. I'm honestly okay with just being your friend for now because I know between managing the anbu and handling the missions that are left specifically for you to deal with, you hardly get any sleep or break time. Really I'm just touched to know you care so much." Amaris said unaware of how the rosey tint to her cheeks and the smile she was now sporting made him feel.

It was moments like these the thought of stepping down as anbu captain crossed his mind but he always paid it no heed knowing he'd never do that. Especially considering there was no one capable of replacing him at the moment.

The kunochi in his arms looked so happy in the moment though he found he wanted to never let her go.

"As long as you're okay with the lack of time for any kind of social interaction my job forces upon me I don't see why we couldn't pursue a relationship with each other."

Amaris's smile grew as her eyes light up and she pulled Kakashi's lips back into a lock with hers earning cheers from the small crowd around them who seemed to think they were watching a movie or a play of some kind.

They broke apart and Kakashi found himself slightly unnerved by the mischievous grin Amaris had developed.

"Ya know Kakashi kun, I can't help but feel I'm being cheated out of a real kiss by that mask of yours."

Kakashi smirked at the kunochi holding in a chuckle as he knew where this was going.

"The mask stays." He said with finality. Amaris was having none of it though.

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" She said reaching for the mask.

Kakashi swiftly ducked out of the way laughing at his girlfriends futile attempts to relieve him of the latex cover that'd practically been the lower half of his face for who knows how many years.

 **Uchiha Compond**

Fugaku had just returned to the compound in a much better mood than usual intent on taking off his shinobi attire and enjoying his first day off in years in civilian clothes which offered more comfort.

Before he reached his house though he came across a group of Uchiha men, all of whom he recognized immediately as a group of younger Uchiha males who'd just reached adult hood and we're nearly ready to inherit the title as head of their respective families.

"Fugaku sama that was amazing!"

The man in question raised an eyebrow wondering just what the other man was talking about.

"How'd you manage to hypnotize and control someone as powerful and experienced as the Hokage?"

Fugaku looked at the man in disbelief and laughed at his comment wondering just how powerful an Uchiha they thought him to be. He doubted even Madara Uchiha would've been able to hold a man such as Hiruzen Satutobi under the sharingans hypnosis considering it was only applicable on weaker, less experienced individuals.

"Fugaku sama?" One of the men questioned having never heard their no nonesense leader laugh before.

"I don't believe myself capable of manipulating one such as the third Hokage. Everything the man said he said of his own volition, I had absolutely nothing to do with his admition of the facts pertaining to the war." Fugaku said wondering what'd lead them to believe such a thing.

"But surely your speech about the real hero's of the shinobi world wasn't just something you'd thrown together on the spot? It was inspiring and happened to touch a number of shinobi and civilians alike." Another clansmen replied unconvinced.

"Well it should have as everything I said I said with not a sliver of decite. I meant every single word with every fiber of my being. I hadn't expected the Hokage to do what he did, but I'm grateful to the man for attempting to right the wrong committed by his council."

"You gentlemen should change into your civilian attire and enjoy the festival, matters of politics should be best left for another day."

"H-Hai, Fugaku sama!" The men stammered as their leader walked pass them with an uncharacteristic smile gracing his features.

No doubt the clan would later have a meeting to discuss todays unexpected occurrence but for now it was a day of celebration.

 **Team Twelve**

"So where'd Shikono sensei go?" Hamura asked just becoming aware that the man that had been walking with them a second ago was now gone.

"Where do you think dude, it's Shikono sensei."

Hamura nodded at Shisui's reply figuring the man had probably seen a spot that looked like it'd be a comfortable place to lay down and nap and had done just that.

The group saw a shadow leap over their heads followed by a number of other shadows, two of which they recognized as Imari and Inoha.

"Where do you guys think they're headed?" Shisui asked the group wondering if there was a battle of some kind taking place.

"Beats me but I'm heading there with them." Hamura said leaping to the nearest wall and running up the side of the building.

"Bet you won't beat me to them!" Shisui said following his lead and catching up quickly.

"Well I bet I'll catch one of them off guard and you won't!" Hamura challenged.

"You're on!" Shisui said as the two began picking up speed and were leaping across the roof tops in pursuit in no time.

Itachi sighed as a part of him wanted to follow his friends and see what was going on, but he figured it was time he went and found Izumi anyway considering she'd made him promise they'd play a few games together at the festival.

Besides, if it was something important there'd be anbu leaping from the roof tops instead of two kunochi and some shinobi hopefuls dressed in civilians clothes.

As Hamura and Shisui neared the group Tsunade and Hatsue turned around feeling someone behind them and Anko and Jusino both did the same, surprising both the genin at how alert they'd never noticed shinobi could be. Especially considering Jusino and Anko were alert enough to have noticed them as well and they were just shinobi hopefuls.

Tsunade called for Imari and Inoha to stop and they all waited where they were.

"Sup guys, we're we headed to in such a rush?" Shisui asked with a grin as they came to a stop in front of the group.

 _"Great..more kids, Kami just kill me now."_ Tsunade said with a mental sigh.

"We were actually on our way to meet up with Nubutaka, Naruto and Jiriya. You guys wanna come?" Hatsue asked sparing the pair one of her friendly smiles.

"You bet!" The boys said in unison with matching grins.

Hatsue chuckled at the brother like shinobi and continued in the direction they were heading with Tsunade right behind her carrying Lilly on her back.

"Hey captain hook." Anko remarked smirking at Hamura who frowned at her continued use of that nickname.

It was similar to the one armed wonder with the fact that it'd been a joke aimed at his injured shoulder during the time his arm was recovering and he couldn't use it. Anko had made fun of him for a while saying if the arm was useless now he'd might as well cut the hand off and replace it with a cool hook. She'd known the arm was just recovering but had still teased him endlessly for it, even being behind Itachi's favorite nickname for him these days, the one armed wonder.

"What is it fireball!" He asked in a voice that let Anko know he wasn't in the mood to appreciate any of her teasing.

He had to admit during the time when he couldn't use his arm the looks of empathy and sadness he'd received from others on his behalf had only served to annoy him greatly although he'd never turn his nose at a person's kindness or understanding towards his situation. Anko had been the only one to spare him no pity however, upon first noticing his arm and his sad demeanor she'd proceeded to call him weak for allowing it to happen and still moping about the past.

Upon realizing his arm would eventually heal the muscle was just taking a while to repair itself she'd begun teasing him, deciding being angry with someone was better than being sad for himself and brooding over things he couldn't change. He understood that but it still didn't erase the fact that during that entire month he'd been depressed and highly sensitive about his arm and she'd still teased him about it.

Much to his surprise the purple haired little firebrand stuck her tongue out at his expression and his tone of voice before allowing her face to soften and giving him a small smile.

"I won't apologise for all the teasing I did because it needed to be done, but I am glad to see you can use your arm again."

Hamura blinked for a few seconds wondering if he'd really just heard what he thought he did.

A make shift apology from Anko was the last thing he'd been expecting upon seeing the girl for the first time in five months.

Mission request were none stop after word got around squad twelve had taken out the red desert robbers of the land of wind, as the rogue nin had liked to call themselves.

For the past few months since Hamura's arm had healed they'd barely had time to rest in the village for more than a couple of hours. Shikono sensei was deadly serious when he'd told them he'd work them so hard they'd wish they'd gotten a typical Nara sensei.

The boys hardly minded though considering nearly every mission was a learning opportunity. In the words of their sensei they could learn best from experience.

"I see you still have a problem with manners baka." Anko said after a moment when Hamura remained silent.

"You don't even give me a chance to reply before you jump to calling me idiots and what not!"

"Yeah well maybe I wouldn't if your just say thank you or you're welcome for once without me having to point out it's common courtesy first!"

"Maybe if you gave me more than a few seconds you wouldn't have to!"

"You wanna fight me huh old man?"

"Bring it on fireball, I'll sweep and mop the floor with you!"

"You wi-"

The two turned around level a scowl at a hysterical Shisui who was holding his ribs and attempting to silence himself as the murderous looks the two sent each other whenever they argued were nothing short of comical.

"Do you wanna die old man." Shisui said doing a mock impression of Anko.

"You couldn't get a hand on me if my own shadow clones were holding me down fireball." He said doing Hamura next and laughing harder than he'd been laughing previously.

The two glared daggers at the unconcerned Uchiha who's laughter seemed no where close to dying down until his foot landed out of place and his face morphed into one of surprise as he fell back off the roof and started speeding towards the ground.

Hamura prepared to dive after his friend to right his position in the air so they could hopefully channel enough chakra into their legs to land alright when something rushed pass him landing on the ground much quicker than Shisui was falling.

"Kaguya style: Elegant web!" Imari slammed her hands into the closest wall and out of it a number of thin bones emerged right under Shisui catching him in an elegant web of bones that stopped his decent immediately.

"Good job Imari! Great show of awareness and ability to improvise relying on your instincts." Hatsue said proudly clapping from beside Hamura and Anko.

Hamura realized their sensei hadn't been kidding when he said most shinobi always kept alert as Hatsue didn't seem the least bit surprised by what had just happened, and judging by how quickly she'd gotten there if Imari hadn't of saved Shisui from injury she would've.

"Arigoto!" Imari said smiling at her sensei's praise as she scaled the wall and moved towards the bone net that was remenicent of a ninja wire trap.

"Sorry if that hurt Shisui but I'm not really good at making my bones the rubbery flexible kind." She apologized touching one of the bones and feeling somewhat pleased she'd actually done better than she'd expected.

"I-It's okay Imari it didn't even hurt, thank you for saving me." Shisui said surprised he'd been saved by one of the twins of all people.

"You're welcome!" The girl said pulling a sword of bone from her elbow, looking completely unbothered by what most would assume to be a very painful action.

Shisui couldn't help but look at Imari wholly as she stood over top of him on the net and smiled at him with a blade in her hand and the sun at her back.

"I've only ever tried making my bones flexible and bendy like rubber once so I couldn't really make them all that soft for you, but I'm glad it didn't hurt. This'll just take a moment." She said as she began using the sword to strike certain parts of the web that were holding Shisui in place.

"It's alright Imari, take and your time." Shisui said gazing thoughtfully at the Shimura girl.

He'd honestly thought he was done for when he'd fallen from the roof. Imari not only saved him but she was apologizing for not being able to make the way she'd done it more comfortable, he should be apologizing for laughing hard enough to slip in the first place.

Her bloodline was so cool, Shisui wondered if she felt anything when she was creating new bones or if she experienced pain when they broke through her skin.

Her hair had fallen as she rushed to the ground at a speed he wasn't able to follow in his descent and he watched it move and sway as she slowly free'd him from the intricate web of bones she'd created. The stark white of her hair matched the stark white of her bones adding to the cool factor of her kekkei genki. She glanced at Shisui to see how he was doing and he averted his eyes upon realizing he'd been staring.

 _"Wait, what was that?"_ Shisui thought sparing her another glance and feeling his heart rate pick up as he did.

 _"Why is looking at Imari making my heart speed up like crazy?"_ Shisui thought feeling uncomfortable and trying not to stare.

" _Relax Shisui it's just because she might have saved your life it'll go away eventually."_ He thought sitting up now having his arms and legs free from the trap.

Imari offered him a hand to help stand and he took it nodding his head in gratitude and nearly jumping out of his skin as she grinned and looked around thoughtfully at the net she stood on.

The two leapt to the roof with the others and Shisui thanked her again causing the Shimura girl to blush lightly and smile as she said it was no big deal.

 _"Kami this girl is cute, crazy I never noticed it before."_

"Hatsue Nee?" She called looking somewhat worried about something.

"Yes Imari?" Hatsue answered thinking she knew what Imari's worried expression was about.

"Do you think it's possible we could destroy this? I don't want the villagers down below to look up and see a web of bone that'll only set them on edge and possibly ruin their festival."

"I figured you'd ask that Imari but I don't think we'll be able to destroy it without causing the debris to fall on all the villagers down below."

"I see." She answered looking somewhat saddened.

"Don't worry Imari, I can disguise it for us!" Inoha said jumping on to the web and causing it to shake slightly as the bones resembled a strong kind of rubber.

"Crystal style: Crystal covering." She said placing a hand on the web. A thin layer of crystal spread out around her hand and ran along the entire web covering it completely and making it appear to be some beautifully intricate web of crystal someone hung between tall buildings on one of the busiest streets of Konoha.

"How's it look?" Inoha asked returning to the roof.

"I love it Inoha, the villagers won't be creeped out about it now!" Imari said crashing into her sister and giving her a loving hug.

Inoha smiled happy that she could help her sister and returned the hug.

Hamura smirked at Shisui who started sweating as he wondered why his teammate would possibly be smirking at him like that.

"I'm glad you're alright but serves you right for laughing at us, maybe next time you'll focus on where your feet are landing." He said causing Anko to snicker and begin laughing at his teammate.

"Not funny guys." Shisui said walking away from the two with a frown.

"It'd still be nice if I could get a thank you or maybe even a you're welcome without having to say anything like Shisui and Imari."

Hamura's laughter ceased as he realized what she was insinuating.

"I told you you never give me enough time!"

"It's been nearly five frikken minutes!"

 **With Naruto's group**

Nubutaka laughed as he listened to Jiriya Hiashi Hiaku and Hizashi recall tales from their youth. Jiriya and Hiashi were actually friends it seemed, with a high level of respect for one another.

Naruto and Neji were talking about progress they were making in their training, both of them intentionally leaving kenjustu out of the conversation.

Hinata was sitting between the two feeling left out and wishing she could train alongside the two and learn some of the cool sounding techniques the two were discussing, as all she was ever instructed on inside the Hyuga compound was the gentle fist which admittedly she wasn't so good at for her age. The duels they had with each other even sounded fun and Hinata never liked battle.

Hiashi glanced a few seats down and saw his daughter sitting by quietly playing with her fingers with her head down cast as Naruto and Neji both discussed their training at the compound. It reminded him of the clans plan for attaining the Monogahi bloodline and for a second the man wondered if it was to work could he really force his daughter into a marriage with a man she didn't love.

He couldn't but the elders certainly could and given the chance to benefit the clan it was most certain they would.

He didn't like the idea of his daughter training under someone else much, given that she still barely acted as if she could use the gentle fist but he figured he might as well ask the man now. Hopefully Neji could help her improve her taijustu during their free time.

"Nubutaka, I'd been meaning to ask you a few months from now when my daughter turns six, but if it's not too much of a problem would you mind taking her on as a student same as you did with Neji? Her gentle fist isn't at the level it should be currently, I think she might benefit from an outside influence in her training." Hiashi said telling only half the truth.

Nubutaka's smiled turned into a grin as he turned to observe the shy Hyuga for a moment before turning back to Hiashi.

"No bother at all, I really like helping these kids improve themselves. Just send her to the compound with Neji from now on."

Hiashi nodded hoping training with the Monogahi and his students might do something for her confidence as he figured that was likely the thing holding her back in her use of their clans taijustu style.

"Actually after Hatsue show's up with Anko Imari and Inoha we were planning on going back to the compound for a few sparing sessions and coming back here later. I was going to go find my little brother and his teammates of course if we didn't run into them, I'd be grateful if you would allow Neji to accompany us."

"You're having your students spare with each other on a day meant for rest and celebration?" Hiashi asked curiously.

"Imari and Inoha are Hatsue's students now. She stole them from me a while ago but I've got to admit she is a better teacher for them, and since Hatsue surpassed me in the wiring arts my only real students have been Neji and Naruto."

"But the kids love sparing with each other and I'm sure some of them would much prefer a battle at the compound to delicious food, and fun but rigged games at the festival." Nubutaka said looking in Neji and Naruto's direction.

Hiashi nodded liking that the man was always seeking to help his students and those who trained under him grow.

"I see no reason why Neji shouldn't be allowed to accompany you but if it's fine with you I'd ask that me Hizashi and Hiaku were permitted to witness these battle's."

Nubutaka's grin returned as he nodded his consent.

 **Hatsue's group**

"And you two want to go first for what reason exactly?" Hatsue asked an excited looking Shisui and Hamura who'd stopped them from leaping from the roof to greet Nubutaka and the others he was sitting with.

"Shikono sensei gave us a mission to try and catch either Itachi or any random shinobi around the village off guard and we wanna try it right now." Shisui answered.

Tsunade smirked at the confident looks the boys were wearing.

"I don't know about Itachi but I know you two will be hard pressed to catch most experienced shinobi off guard, especially those four down there."

Shisui and Hamura shrugged at Tsunade's words and leapt off the building landing silently across the street and slowly approaching the group.

Much to their horror five heads turned to look directly towards them.

"Oh look, there's two of them right there." Nubutaka said smiling at the two.

They approached rather down trodden that even Neji managed to somehow feel them coming as they hadn't made a single noise on their way over.

"Where's Itachi?" Nubutaka asked when they were in front of them.

Both Shisui and Hamura turned to look around then spared each other a short glance.

"That jerk must have ditched us!" Shisui said wondering what his cousin could possibly be doing that was better than hanging out with him and Hamura.

Nubutaka held back a laugh at the two just realizing their teammate was no longer with them.

"Sounds like something Itachi would do, have you guys seen-"

Nubutaka grinned not bothering to finish his question as Hatsue Imari Inoha and Anko fell from the building across the street and began making their way towards them with Tsunade and two other kids with them.

"Nevermind then." He said standing and walking to Hatsue to give her a peck on the cheek and tell her how good she looked.

Shisui and Hamura ignored the public display of affection and moved to greet Neji and Naruto as Inoha and Imari did the same.

"Those two are adorable I tell ya, makes me wanna regurgitate my sake a bit." Tsunade said coming to stand next to Hiaku who chuckled at her comment.

"I think it's really cute their so open about their love for each other." Hiaku replied smiling as she watched the two interact with each other as if they were the only two present on the street at the moment.

Hiashi couldn't help but frown inwardly at witnessing the truth to the rumor. That meant score one for the Uchiha, team Hyuga now definitely trailing behind.

"Honestly I think it's pretty cute too, those two are so in love with each other it makes me jealous Tsunade hime is constantly turning down my advances." Jiriya said from his spot at the vendors table.

Tsunade scoffed at the mans comment not even bothering to turn around to give the him a reply.

"That's not love you feel pervert it's lust."

Jiriya laughed at the comment and flicked a peanut shell at the Sannin causing her to turn around and shoot him a murderous glare.

"You never know what it could be or what it could turn into, maybe you should give this pervert a chance. I only bite if that's what you're into." Jiriya said completely serious at first but gaining a playful smirk at the end.

"Not a chance!" Tsunade said quickly whirling back around as she felt a bit of warmth touch her cheeks.

"So you finally learned how to use shadow clones huh?" Shisui asked Naruto as it'd been a while since he trained with the little guy.

"You bet I did, just wait till you see what I can do with them! I even surprised Neji!"

"Well in that case I can't wait to see!"

"Your shadow clones aren't better than my rock bunshin though." Hamura teased just wanting to mess with the boy a bit.

"But they are because I can do more with them and I get my clones memories. Your stupid rock clones can't do that can they!" Naruto said defending his favorite justu which so happened to be the only justu he really knew at the moment.

"You've got me there." Hamura said laughing at the blonde.

"Can we spare today since you guys finally aren't out on a mission?" Naruto asked hoping they'd say yes, he liked sparing against different people because you could learn different things faster that way.

"I don't see why not but if the adults say no we'll just kidnap you." Shisui said wondering how exactly they'd do that when they couldn't even sneak up on them.

"Awesome! Super spikey haired toad sensei is teaching me this new justu I want you guys to help me with since you're both fire style users."

"Oohhh?" Both boys said in unison really feeling their interest peek at the mention of a fire style justu.

"Neji kun?"

Neji turned around diverting his attention from Naruto's conversation with Hamura and Shisui to see Inoha grinning at him.

"If those three are running away to spare with each other I think we could use their disappearance as a distraction to do the same."

Neji smirked knowing she just wanted to even the score, ever since their first taijustu battle the two had become rivals when it came to taijustu. Neji was currently ahead by one having six wins to her five this would be the perfect opportunity for him to widen the gap.

He looked at his father and then his uncle and wondered how they'd feel if he snuck away when they were supposed to be out having makeshift family time. He then looked at Inoha and felt her enthusiasm rubbing off on him, he really wanted to widen that gap between them to show the girl she was his junior for a reason.

"Okay then, we'll wait for these three to attempt their escape." He said smirking at the thought of the battle to come.

Anko and Imari had both taken notice of the shy Hyuga girl who was looking around unsure of what to do and they glanced at each other before approaching.

"Hi!" Imari practically shouted causing the girl to jump as she finally noticed the girls standing beside her.

"My name's Imari and this is my onee chan Anko."

"I-It's nice to meet you both! M-My name is Hinata." The girl said shyly avoiding direct eye contact with the strangers.

"Awww she's so cute Anko chan!" Imari said gushing over the girl who had to be only a year or two younger than herself.

"It's nice to meet you too Hinata, let's be really good friends alright!" Imari said adopting a bit of her twin sisters demeanor and pulling the shy girl into a hug.

Hinata jumped and blushed at the girls affection but smiled at the thought of making a friend for the first time in her life.

"H-Hai, Imari chan!"

"Inoha this girl is adorable, and she has pretty hair too!" Imari said calling to her sister and interrupting her conversation with Neji.

Inoha ran towards her twin and let out a squeel of delight upon looking at Hinata.

"Oh my gosh you're like a much cuter less scary version of Neji!"

The Hyuga frowned wondering if that statement meant she found him cute. He liked to think words like cute and pretty didn't apply to him as a male, it honestly made him feel funny. He was a handsome young man far from being 'cute'.

Hinata was blushing furiously from the attention she was receiving wondering if the two were twins considering they looked just alike besides Imari's hair being down and falling around her shoulders while Inoha's was up wrapped in a stylish looking bun.

Imari looked to be a bit taller and if Hinata could guess when Inoha let down her hair it was likely longer than her sisters.

The two began talking with Hinata about her life surprised to find out she was the Hyuga hieress.

Hiashi and Hizashi were observing the children as Tsunade and Hiaku talked with Jiriya, and Nubutaka and Hatsue had yet to leave each other's arms as they talked about whatever it was that had the two grinning at each other. You'd think the two never got to spend any time with each other but with Hatsue being an anbu and training the twins now it was likely they didn't see each other often these days.

Hiashi smiled as he saw the Shimura girls talking with his daughter and making her smile. Kami knew it'd be hard for someone as shy as she was to make friends. Hizashi wondered what had Neji and the younger of the Shimura twins grinning at each other, Hiashi wondered the same but really didn't put much thought into it.

"So were's Itachi?" Neji asked intruding in on Hamura and Shisui's conversation over the best kind of ramen with Naruto.

"Who knows, the guy just straight up disappeared without so much as a I'll catch you guys later or anything." Shisui answered as his face turning into a grumpy frown causing Naruto to laugh.

Shisui laughed along with Naruto readopting the look causing the blonde to laugh harder and start holding his sides.

Neji smiled at Shisui's fruitful attempts at making Naruto laugh as Hamura started doing the same.

He never really understood how these two were such good people persons, especially considering Shisui came from a notoriously cold clan. Hamura actually made sense considering most Monogahi were people persons.

"Hey guys!" Nubutaka called drawing their attention.

"Who wants to go have a few spares at the compound?"

All the kids present save Hinata raised there hands grinning brightly either at the opportunity to show of some new justu or level of skill with something, or just grinning at the prospect of a good friendly battle at the compound.

"Then it's settled, I'll go find Izumi and Itachi. They'll probably be together wherever they are." Nubutaka said sinking into his shadow.

"Naruto my little angel!" Hatsue said practically tackling the blonde and wrapping him in a fierce hug.

"Your embarrassing me Nee chan." A lightly blushing Naruto remarked inside Hatsue's arms as Hamura and Shisui chuckled.

"Awww but you're so adorable and I missed you! I get to see Imari and Inoha all the time because Danzo let's me enter the compound whenever I please and I train with them routinely. I haven't seen you for about a month, you're not avoiding me are you knuckle head?"

"Of course not! I've just been kind of busy training with Nubutaka and Jiriya sensei. I usually go straight home instead of going to ba chans house to play with the others lately."

Hatsue let him out of the hug and looked at him closely.

"Jiriya sama's been making sure you eat a good amount of fruits and vegetables instead of just the usual junk food right?"

Naruto paled slightly as Jiriya flinched and started sweating slightly in the background.

"Y-Yea..I eat lots of fruits and veggies!"

Hatsue placed a hand on the boys shoulder and kept her smile in place as her sharingan spun to life making the blonde a million times more nervous.

"Don't lie to me Naruto, you know I'll know if you aren't telling the truth."

Naruto spared a short glance at Jiriya and briefly contemplated trying to run away. Last time he lied to his nee chan she used her ninja wires to hang him upside down till he grew dizzy and developed a headache.

"Uh..uhm..." Naruto shot Jiriya a look that said please help me and the Sannin shook his head giving him a stalwart no and an are you crazy look.

"I-I-I would've been eating my vegetables but super spikey haired toad sensei never buys any, he just gets junk food for the house!"

Jiriya's jaw dropped and a chill went down his back as Hatsue turned and fixed him with a sharp glare.

He attempted to leap to the nearest roof and make his escape when he felt something wrap around his ankle and pull him back towards the ground.

Much to his horror both Tsunade and Hatsue stood over him looking none too pleased, one of the two cracking their knuckles and the other flexing a few lines of ninja wire.

"Didn't I warn you about just feeding the kid junk food Jiriya." Tsunade growled shooting him a murderous glare.

"I'll have to punish you for Kushina's sake as well." The woman said in a voice that was so low it was nearly a whisper but it still managed to chill the man to the core.

"I-I-I swear I don't know what the kids talking about! I buy vegetables for us to eat all the time, sure I mostly get junk food but I get vegetables too, he just doesn't eat them!" Jiriya defended trying to crawl away.

Hatsue pulled on the wires around his leg and the man was pulled right back to the angry kunochi.

"H-H-Hiashi! Help me, for old times sake please help me!"

Hiashi shook his head having no intent to take part in Jiriya's unfortunate punishment.

Naruto and the others could only wince and close their eyes as Jiriya's pained screams extended into the heavens earning the white Sannin the sympathy of the Gods themselves who winced upon witnessing the poor man's plight.

 **Leaf village council room**

"Satutobi." All but one of the leaf villages elder council greeted as the man walked into the room.

"Homura, Koharu." Hiruzen said returning the greeting and moving to take a random seat inside the room.

He opted for sitting on the southwest side of the room in one of the shinobi council member seats. It shouldn't be too much of a problem considering this was a meeting the elder council had just called involving only him and themselves.

He didn't really wish to be sitting beside them considering he knew exactly why they'd called for his presence in the council chambers.

"I take it you've asked me here to discuss my announcement to the village concerning Fugaku's efforts during the war." Hiruzen said stating the question rather than asking what he knew already knew to be truth.

"Ineed." Koharu remarked looking at the Hokage with her eye lids so low to some she might have appeared to be squinting or to have them closed but such was only her natural look.

"We'd like to know why after receiving your authoration to do such a thing you would go back and undermine our work. The Uchiha are the greatest internal threat to the village as of now and as such they must be handled with caution."

The Hokages tilted his head at Koharu's words adopting the expression of someone who'd just been told something they didn't know.

"The Uchiha are the greatest internal threat to Konoha you say? One week it's Naruto the next it's one of our own noble clans who's going to be the next biggest threat, Ichiraku ramen?"

Hiruzen could hear his old friend Danzo's brow furrowing without even sparing the man a glance.

"This is no time for joking about matters Hiruzen! You're little confession just brought the Uchiha back into the public affections. No doubt Fugaku and his clansmen are already discussing how they can use this turn of events to their benefit, and wrestle more power over the village right from under the councils nose."

"That's right." Koharu piped up. "Thanks to the Uchiha's investment after the nin tails incident they practically own both the civilian and shinobi hospitals, as well as a number of weapon shops within the village."

Hiruzen tilted his head again to the other side shooting both elders a look of disbelief.

"So you two are upset that the Uchiha were generious enough to spend their own clans funds to help speed up the village recovery process? The clan has only done the same thing the Akamichi have been doing for years considering their clan has completely monopolised the fried and fast food restaurant business within Konoha and have done so for years. As far as using clan funds to make solid investments that will improve their over all level of power and influence within the village just look at the Hyuga."

"Hiashi doesn't even allow himself to miss civilian meetings regarding trade within the village, considering the Hyuga are responsible for overseeing nearly thirty perfect of Konoha's trade market and the village simply couldn't run without their influence. After the incident the Hyuga now own over eighty percent of the villages public bath house's."

"Then there's the Nara who can safely say nearly every farm supplying the village is under their name and the oversight of one of their clan members."

"The Yamanaka who don't even attend village agricultural meetings, aside from the Haruno's practically are the villages agricultural department."

"And the Satutobi clan can safely say we own most of the villages banking facilities, thanks to which has earned our small little clan a respect comparable to that of the Uchiha or the Hyuga."

Koharu opened her mouth to cut the man off but found he wasn't quite finished yet.

"Let's not forget the Aburame who make an exuborent amount of money keeping pesky crop eating bugs and even common pest like mosquitos away from the village."

"Or even the Shimura who although admittedly nowhere near what the clan used to be still has a strong hand on the land of fires merchantile shipping industry."

"Even the Monogahi who are virtually new to Konoha can say that with all the tailors and clothing stores they've opened up they've gotten a firm hand in the market for both shinobi and civilian attire. They've even established a number of forges around the village with blacksmiths specializing in not only shinobi weapons but jewelry and luxury goods of all types."

"A clan gathering power and influence through businesses and investments within their village is nothing new. This is the way things have been since early into the shinobi village era, and the fact that the Uchiha are just now deciding to participate does not mean that they are attempting to snatch power from Konoha's leadership."

"But there have been whispers among the Uchiha Satutobi, whispers of rebellion." Danzo said eyeing the Hokage critically. "Apparently some of the younger men in the clan are resentful of the fact that Fugaku Uchiha still has not ascended to the seat of the Hokage, which they feel the man rightfully deserves."

A part of Hiruzen could say the man honestly did put in the necessary work requirement, he was strong and disciplined enough for the Hokage hat as well but would he actually carry on the same values he and his predecessors had was another story.

"Perhaps they are right in their assessment that Fugaku is deserving of the position. I wouldn't worry too much about what the younger generation of Uchiha are saying. It only makes sense they'd want to revolt if their leader, alongside their clan." Hiruzen said putting extra emphasis on the last part. "We're not getting the credit they deserve."

The Shimura frowned at the Hokage as the debate about the Uchiha between the elder council and the Hokage shifted into a debate about village politics and management between Danzo and Hiruzen. One that revolved mostly around the Uchiha of course.

"You're much to naive Sarutobi. If the younger members of the clan are even comfortable entertaining such an idea it means it's likely the subject isn't something that hasn't been broughten up before. We cannot allow the Uchiha too much freedom, Lord Tobirama wanted them watched for a reason."

Hiruzen knew that statement would come eventually as it always did when he and Danzo were on this topic.

"Lord Tobirama wanted them watched in the rare case that another Madara might one day show up, and lead the clan to rebel against the hidden leaf village. A clan that has no reason to be discontent has no reason to rebel. Only those who are oppressed or power hungry fight against those they consider to be in a higher position."

"While it's true Lord Tobirama had a particular distrust of the entirety of the Uchiha clan in general, the man grew up in a war where the majority of his dead friends and family were slain by members of that very same clan. The Uchiha have a bloody history of course, one of betrayal and murder for the sake of power, but no clan that exist today can safely say that we are without our demons. We did what we had to do to survive the waring states era, even at the cost of what was morally right."

"To keep holding the Uchiha's past over their heads like some dark stain never to be rinsed off their reputation, but not do the same with the other clans is only cause to lead them towards rebellion. The Uchiha are one of Konoha's greatest assets and if they're continued to be treated as a threat then that is eventually what they will become."

Danzo's expression darkened at what the man was saying as Homura and Koharu simply observed the men's battle of opinions.

"If nothing is done about the Uchiha in the future the village just may meet it's demise because of your foolish sentiment Hiruzen."

The Hokage developed a small smile sparing Danzo's comment a look of amusement.

"Oh but I've done something about the Uchiha today...I told the truth of the matter I'm sure they wished for others to know. I even admitted to the knowledge being withheld from the public. I'm sure in one day I've done more to make the Uchiha feel welcome in the village again than anyone save the Monogahi and the Yamanaka have done in over thirty years." Hiruzen said pushing the chair back and standing up.

"There will be no more arguments over this topic. I'd like for the Uchiha to receive credit where credit is due, same as any of Konoha's other clans." The man said pausing before he walked towards the door.

"Any other questions or concerns I can help you three with while I'm here?"

Danzo looked slightly upset and it was clear the man had nothing more to say to the Hokage at the moment but Koharu spoke up from beside Homura.

"I've heard there's been rumors of a Yamanaka man who was tending the gardens around the Uchiha compond getting some Uchiha woman pregnant. Are there any truth to those?" The council woman asked curiously earning Hiruzen two curious looks from the other two council members sitting to her right.

"Indeed there is although I'm unaware of the details. Usually such a thing would be cause for celebration as both clans are masters of Illusion and mind manipulation techniques, but apparently niether of the clans knew of this affair between the two individuals till the woman turned up pregnant. We've no way of knowing how accepted the child will be by either clan or which clan they'll belong to at the end of the day."

Danzo let out a low 'hn' from where he sat.

"Honestly it's about time these clans stopped trying so fervently to keep their bloodlines pure. A Yamanaka and an Uchiha child would be capable of genjustu the likes of which few could imagine, I'm honestly shocked niether of them considered this before."

"Indeed, but what will come of this remains to be seen. If that is all I'll be taking my leave then." Hiruzen said proceeding out of the door to the council room.

He was actually more interested to see what would come of the Yamanaka/Uchiha child than he'd let on and he actually agreed with Danzo when he said the clans shouldn't focus so much on keeping their bloodlines pure but should rather be more concerned with mixing them with others to see what kind of result one might incure.

 **Sorry if the chapter was a boring one guys, it was meant to serve a few small purposes not really to entertain.**

 **If anyone has a line up of how they'd like the sparing matches for the next chapter please let me know what you'd prefer since I just pick them at random anyway.**

 **Here's the line up of all the matches I've already got planned.**

 **Naruto Vs Hinata**

 **Izumi Vs Anko**

 **Neji Vs Inoha**

 **That leaves us with Itachi Hamura Shisui Imari and Jusino to be matched up among each other. Towards the end of the chapter we'll have one or two special sparing matches I'm sure you guys won't be expecting. I already said a while ago I'd definitely do one of them but as for the other it's debatable, I guess it depends on how long I'm willing to make the chapter and if I'll feel like writing the second match.**

 ** _Hope you guys enjoyed the boring chapter I meant to give a preview of in the last chapter!_**

 **Kasuf:** @Guest, you're lucky Shy tells me I can't curse in this message, get a life you pleb. If the story sucks so bad stop reading every chapter and trying to cause people grief.

 **Al Kabir:** @Guest, You're beyond pathetic. Khajul tries her best to write the fic in a way everyone will enjoy and you're just constantly coming at her with hate for no reason. You're a sad lil scrub, go troll someone else.

 **Kasuf:** Wait, do I still get to comment about this chapter?

 **Shy:** No Kasuf that was your end of chapter comment, but thank you though. :3

 _(Kasuf's upset he wasted his end of chapter comment on a 'scrub' lol but he'll get one next chapter)_

 ** _To everyone who's liking the story so far thanks I really appreciate it._**


	17. Chapter 14 Part 2

**MUST READ:** _Okay I've uploaded a chapter detailing some of the events of Kakashi's time in the land of rain. You guys NEEED to go back and read that chapter or risk confusion later on in the story. It's 13 part 2 you can read it before or after this chapter, doesn't really matter._

 **I've** **got a major treat or two, or maybe three in store for you guys during this chapter, I already gave you guys a hint about one of them in the last chapter. The mystery sparing session/sessions, the other one is just gonna knock your socks off, don't hate me just keep reading.**

 **Naruto's gonna have two sparing sessions in this chapter btw, one is just to serve as a catalyst to future events and the second will be to show the level of skill he's on so far.** **Hope** **you guys enjoy the chapter please read and review if it suits you.**

 **28k words**

 _The little shinobi that could_

No fair Itachi!" Izumi huffed looking upset with her fellow Uchiha.

"What?" Itachi asked turning to Izumi beckoning she explain what exactly he'd done wrong.

"You're always winning all the games we play, I feel like I can't win anything by myself with you around!"

Itachi raised an eyebrow at her odd statement. Surely she didn't care that much considering every game Itachi won he'd allowed her to pick the prize. Izumi was now in possession of a stuffed raven, and a bag full of various knick knacks Itachi didn't see the appeal behind.

Much to the Uchiha's annoyance she insisted he carry the raven as she was already busy holding two bags full of the weird rewards he'd won and allowed her to pick for herself seeing as he had no use for such things.

"It seems like you don't mind as much as you let on." Itachi said sending a pointed look towards the various items she carried in her arms.

"Well...I like the free stuff of course, but it's not fair you win every game so easily. I always try my hardest and lose and then you step in and just make it look so easy."

"That's because the games are rigged." Itachi said rather plainly as if that answer was clear as day.

Izumi looked questioningly at him slightly confused at his statement.

"But why would the game masters have games it's set up for people to lose?"

"Simple really." Itachi said stopping and nodding to a man who had a stall where he preformed the old find the ball under the cup trick.

"That man there probably makes a lot of money off his stand, but more than likely he needs to make the money he spent on prizes back and still double his money. If everyone won as easily as they were supposed to he'd be out of prizes before he even had the time to make his money back. Plus when people see someone else struggling with something that looks easy it makes them want to give it a go, the harder an easy game looks the more attention it'll draw."

"Which means more money for the vendors?" Izumi supplied seeing where he was going.

"Exactly." Itachi said moving to walk away but stopping when Izumi grabbed his sleeve and turned back towards the vendor.

"So if the games are set up for people to lose how is it you always win?"

"I just focus on finding out how to win rather than focusing on actually winning."

Izumi tilted her head at the boys cryptic answer.

"What's the difference between the two?"

Itachi looked like he wanted to smirk at her comment but for reasons known only to Itachi he choose not to do so and continued to stare at the man running the stall as he moved three cups with a ball underneath back and forth at a speed that likely impressed most none shinobi.

"Look at the man who's playing the game right now. His eyes are following the cup he believes to have the ball underneath but that's exactly how these games get people, they often only see and pay attention to whatever it is the vendor expects them to. If an enemy can manipulate your thoughts and actions-"

"Than they can easily manipulate the flow of the battle and the victory will inevitably be there's." Izumi finished for him watching the man who was watching the vendor and deciding she'd try following Itachi's advice.

"Come on Itachi, I wanna give it a shot!" Izumi said grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the stall to stand in front of the vendor.

"Ohhohoo...Uchiha eh, sorry but no sharingan for this here game kiddos. It'd give you an unfair advantage over the rest of my costumers."

"That's fine we won't need it." Izumi said confidently placing 100 ryo on the stand that was quickly scooped up by the grinning vendor.

"Confident eh..I like that, lets see what ya got kid." The man said explaining the rules which were just about as simple as can be.

Three cups...one ball, find the ball under the cup three times and you'd win the game. Choose the wrong cup three times and it was a lose, he remarked that just for the price of 50 ryo though they could rematch if they lost.

Izumi nodded grinning at the chance to finally beat one of these games and watched as the man placed a ball under the cup in the middle and began moving them around in a pattern that was all too easy to follow.

She pointed to the cup on the left and the man raised it revealing she'd choosen right. _"Of course the first one was free, this is where it gets harder."_ She thought.

The man put the ball back under the cup and began shuffling their positions again and Izumi watched somewhat impressed with his speed but able to keep up easily thanks to her shinobi training.

She pointed to the cup on the left again and the man looked slightly surprised before raising it to reveal she'd choosen correctly yet again. She turned to shoot Itachi a happy grin finding this game to be ridiculously easy compared to the others she'd played today.

The man put the cup back on the ball and began shuffling them yet again at a slightly faster pace than before and Izumi smiled knowing she'd kept up and pointed to the cup on the left again.

Much to her surprise when he raised the cup the ball wasn't under there, he raised the middle cup and revealed what she'd been looking for before smirking and putting the cup back down and shuffling again. Izumi focused harder on the cups promising herself she wouldn't lose sight of the ball this time watching closey and waiting for the man's hands to stop.

When they finally stilled a moment later the man crossed his arms and smirked down at the Uchiha who confidently pointed towards the center cup.

The man's smirk only widened as he raised the cup and the ball wasn't there, he raised the cup to the left and lo and behold there it was.

Izumi frowned knowing she'd kept sight on the right cup, there was no way the ball wasn't under the one in the middle she was absolutely sure of it. There was no way this man was cheating her right in front of her face and she didn't notice.

"Remember not to see what it is he wants you to, focus on finding the way to win instead of just focusing on winning." Itachi whispered to Izumi before the man put the cups back down and continued to shuffle.

Izumi's face morphed into a mask of focus as she watched the cups move but focused more on the man's hands moving the cup rather than just paying attention to the cups as she did usually.

She saw it for a split second, his hands slowed for a moment and the cup to the right which she knew to have the ball in it raised slightly as it went past the cup in the center. The man spun the cups around for a few more cycles and stopped smirking confidently at Izumi.

She didn't immediately pick out the cup she knew to be the one with the ball underneath. She observed the table for a moment instead noticing a subtle slant that'd easily allow the ball to role down towards the cup in front of it without anyone being the wiser if it was done quickly.

She returned the man's smirk before picking the cup on the left and grinning as the man's eyes widened and his face developed a look of absolute shock.

"H-How did you...I mean congratulations girl! You've won yourself the right to claim a prize." He said adopting a fake smile and gesturing the the row of prizes behind her.

Izumi's smiled full force at Itachi and threw her hands around the raven haired boy and the large plusy bird he held.

"Thank you so much for helping me Itachi, I could've never done it without you! Now I can get Kuro chan a friend!" Izumi said reffering to the stuffed raven Itachi was holding.

Itachi just mentally sighed as Izumi turned back around to look through the prizes. He really hoped he wouldn't wind up having to carry yet another stuffed animal as he already felt weird enough carrying one around for the bubbly brown haired Uchiha.

She choose a brown stuffed teddy bear and held him up to Itachi who had no idea why she seemed so happy with her prize.

"Now since I've actually won something here." She said offering him the stuffed bear.

Itachi just tilted his head looking at her oddly as his fear came to pass.

"There's no way I'm carrying two stuffed animals Izumi." Itachi said with finality hoping she didn't want to argue about it.

She frowned at him and snatched the little black raven she called Kuro chan out of his hands before shoving the brown bear against his chest really giving him no choice when it came to the matter of carrying one.

Itachi took hold of the bear more than a bit reluctant but a part of him inwardly smirked at seeing her adorable frown. He couldn't help but find it funny when Izumi got slightly upset like she was now.

"I wasn't asking you to carry her Itachi she's yours now." She said placing one of her bags of small knick knacks on the man's counter before telling the man she would sell all of them to him for 600 ryo.

He visibly perked up and began negotiating with the girl while Itachi who was surprised by Izumi's confidence and skills when it came to bargaining looked at the teddy bear in his arms oddly wondering what made Izumi designate this one as a she.

"I'll tell you what girl, 450 Ryo and you can get that one item you were talking about."

"Deal!" Izumi said reaching into the bag and retrieving something before holding out her hand expectantly.

"You drive a hard bargain girly." The man said placing the money in her hand and snatching the bag of festival prizes off of the counter.

"And you aren't so bad for a scam artist." Izumi smirked before pocketing the money.

"Hey hey hey! Keep it down I'm tryna run an unfair business here." The man said returning the smirk before tossing Izumi another fifty ryo just because he liked her style.

"Now get out of here brats, I got more customers waiting." He said pointing behind them to a number of people patiently awaiting their turn.

"Good luck doubling your profit!" Izumi said turning around and grabbing Itachi's wrist as the two began walking away from the stand.

"Thanks kid, be sure to tell all your friends about me!" The man called returning Izumi's parting wave before turning back to the money signs he saw waiting in line.

Itachi and Izumi walked down the street with Itachi holding the teddy bear in a clearly uncomfortable manner while Izumi squeezed the crow to her chest like she was already very fond of it.

"I hope you didn't mind me giving the prizes you won away but Kuro is really the only one I wanted."

Itachi shrugged letting her know he didn't really care anyway before it got to the point he could not longer ignore the nagging feeling in his mind.

"You know I don't want this thing right?" He asked holding out the teddy bear causing Izumi to frown.

"Well get used to her because she's yours, and Naomi chan isn't a thing she's a she. Don't be such a jerk Itachi."

"But why do I have to keep the prize you won?" Itachi asked not understanding why it seemed important to her that he kept this 'thing' she called Naomi.

"Because you won me Kuro chan to keep me company when I'm at home, so it's only fair I give you Naomi chan to do the same for you. You might act like you never get lonely Itachi but you do, it's what drew me to you in the first place."

Itachi thought about it for a moment and sighed knowing from the look in her eyes there was really no arguing on the matter. If he outright refused she'd be angry or possibly even sad and he avoided making her feel that ways if he could help it.

"What ever made you assume such a thing that I was lonely?" Itachi asked just accepting Naomi as his new roommate for the time being.

"Your eyes of course." Izumi said looking at him as if he'd asked a question with an obvious answer.

"Hm?" Itachi asked not exactly understanding.

 ***FLASHBACK***

 _"Birth death, birth death."_ Itachi walked through the field near the memorial for fallen shinobi contemplating life's cruel cycle unaware of the pair of eyes following as he walked around the field aimlessly.

 _"That boys always alone, I wonder if he has any friends."_ Izumi thought feeling slightly concerned for the boy who always looked sad for some reason.

She decided to approach him to see if he'd like to play with her and her friends, maybe he was just shy.

"Hey hey!" She called stopping a short distance behind the boy feeling slightly nervous at talking to a total stranger, but everybody needed friends though and she'd help him if she could.

Itachi turned around and looked at her somewhat questioningly but seemingly uninterested all the same surprising Izumi slightly, it was as if he was already turning down her invitation to play and she hadn't even asked yet.

His eyes caused her to pause for a moment as she looked at them slightly puzzled.

 _"Why do his eyes look so sad, why are they so lonely?"_ Izumi questioned herself feeling somewhat saddened at the despair she saw in the boys oynx pools.

They were much older and more mature than the eyes of even some adults, she didn't understand why a persons eyes could look so cold yet so sad, so intelligent yet so confused. Her presence wasn't what was confusing him...no it was something else. He seemingly looked at her and looked through her at the same time, his eyes told a story that was spoken in a language Izumi couldn't understand.

She smiled in a friendly manner hoping he hadn't seen her eyes flash with confusion for a moment.

"Aren't you Itachi? An Uchiha in my class? Let's play together." She asked hoping he would agree. No one should be that lonely, no one should be that sad.

Instead of answering her though Itachi continued pass her and her companions who were arguing about which game to play today.

"Hey, are you dissing us!" One of the boys asked looking none to happy at Itachi practically pretending they didn't exist.

"I have shurieken practice today." Itachi said not even bothering to turn to give his reply

"Let's practice shurieken now." Another boy said smirking and picking up a rock.

"No don't!" Izumi shouted not wanting to see the boy hurt.

The boy threw the rock anyway but much to the groups surprise Itachi shifted to the side slightly and it wized right past him.

"That kid!" The first boy to speak growled grabbing a rock and throwing it.

The rest of the group followed his lead all picking up rocks and throwing them at the unconcerned Uchiha who just kept walking.

"Trying to act all cool! What a stuck up-"

"Hey you guys, stop it!" Izumi shouted upset her friends were acting so stupid when Itachi hadn't done anything to them.

"Shut up! This is a matter between guys!"

The boys continued throwing rocks unaware of Itachi's thoughts at the moment.

 _"Life, life is born."_ Itachi thought thinking of his parents smiling and holding a baby Sasuke.

 _"Life dies."_ He thought flashing back to memories of dead bodies and injured shinobi littering the battlefield.

 _"Life is a battle."_ Itachi thought as his eyes narrowed growing a bit sad coming to the realization of what he'd been struggling to accept.

"Hey! Don't run away!" One of the boys yelled launching another rock.

Feed up with their bull crap Itachi caught in the rock without turning jumping into the air over another and spinning throwing the rock to hit one out of the air to redirect and hit another that just left the hand of another kid.

The boys looked at Itachi in a stunned stupor as Izumi looked on surprised as well but wondering if he was hurt even though she hadn't seen him get hit. Itachi spared the group one last glance before turning and continuing on his way.

 ***Present day***

Itachi was genuinely surprised Izumi had been able to read his eyes so easily upon their first meeting. He'd wondered why he saw confusion briefly flash in her eyes before she asked him to play with her and the others.

Itachi figured she'd answered his question he might as well ask another while they were walking around the festival aimlessly.

"How come after that day it seemed like you would avoid me at the academy?"

Izumi looked surprised at the question and looked away nervously.

"I wasn't avoiding you." She lied avoiding eye contact because she knew he'd see right through her.

Itachi stopped walking and she sighed turning around attempting to look at him with a straight face. He seemed to be reading her and she involuntarily averted her eyes knowing it was highly likely he already knew she was lying.

She waited for him to call her on it but he just remained silent and she looked up and frowned.

"Jeeze Itachi, why do you have to always be so irritating!" Izumi said knowing the Uchiha was waiting for the truth.

A ghost of a smirk merly graced the boys lips but he said nothing causing Izumi to huff.

"Fine, you caught me! I was avoiding you because I felt kind of like if I wouldn't have asked you to play and you hadn't ignored me the guys wouldn't have started throwing rocks at you." Izumi said looking somewhat ashamed and staring towards the ground at the end of her statement.

"I'd hardly call it your fault." Itachi said moving to stand beside Izumi who picked her head up.

"But it was." She said unwilling to believe it wasn't as the two started walking again.

If she'd have never spoke to Itachi in the first place the boys would've never felt like he was dissing them by turning down an invitation to play without saying anything.

Itachi recognized that look too well, it was the no arguments look that said she was not to be convinced otherwise no matter what he said.

"If I'd have just kindly declined your offer instead of ignoring you outright it likely would've been avoided anyway, I think we can agree to share the blame."

Izumi's frown returned and Itachi took that to mean no compromise.

"No Itachi, stop attempting to burden yourself with the blame for a situation that you didn't cause. Those boys were jerks, they shouldn't have acted that way. I knew you were going through something and had heavy thoughts on your mind but I still decided to ask you to play with us."

"A part of me already knew what your answer would be...truthfully if you were that sad I should have never bothered you." Izumi said guiltily.

"The fact that you still attempted only speaks wonders about your personality. Honestly I could have handled how I replied to your invitation better even if I wa-"

"No Itachi, stop! Nothing you can say will change how I feel about what happened." Izumi said bringing them to a stop this time.

Itachi looked at Izumi's stern frown for a moment and found himself grateful for her friendship.

"Well I won't blame myself if you won't." He said unwilling to allow her to feel bad over something that happened a while ago and wasn't really her fault.

"Okay then, promise." Izumi said smiling and holding out her pinky finger.

Itachi found himself returning the smile and locking his pinky with hers.

Itachi had another question that'd been playing on his mind for a while and only more so after she described how she'd been able to see the loneliness in his eyes. He didn't want to ruin Izumi's good mood though so he decided he'd just ask her later at some other time.

"Do you want to play some more games or get something to eat Itachi?" Izumi asked smiling as she hugged the raven tighter to herself.

"Maybe after we've seen what our stalker wants with us." Itachi said turning to the roof acknowledging a presence he'd noticed had been following them for a while.

Upon noticing he'd been noticed the man jumped from the roof landing in front of the pair and grinning at them like crazy.

"I couldn't hear what you guys were saying, but you two are so adorable together. It makes me want a picture of you two." Nubutaka said unable to help his grin.

He knew the two weren't a couple unlike the others who still believed Shisui's claim upon first seeing Izumi, but he still found them both adorable and figured it was likely to happen eventually. Itachi hardly ever smiled for anything but whenever he was alone with Izumi the Uchiha girl always managed to bring a smile to his features somehow.

Izumi was also very fond of Itachi but it was likely the two saw each other as nothing more than best friends at the moment. Was it wrong to ship children? Nubutaka didn't know but he didn't care honestly, he was rooting for the two.

"Let me guess. You won the raven Itachi and Izumi picked it out because it reminded her of you, and Izumi won the brown bear and forced it on you because she has the raven so you needed something."

Izumi's face warmed up at his comments and she wondered how he'd been able to guess about Kuro and Naomi chan so accurately.

Itachi nodded wondering how long the man had been following them or if he'd really just taken a wild guess and hit the hammer dead on the mark. He was grateful at least he knew he wasn't carrying the stuffed bear by choice.

"What are you doing here sensei?" Izumi asked forcing down her blush and looking at Nubutaka curiously.

"Come on Izumi, if you call me sensei surely your real teacher Itachi sama will get jealous." The man teased unable to help himself.

Izumi looked at Itachi and came to the realization he did happen to teach her a lot even when they weren't training like he'd done earlier. Itachi just remained silent not really having a comment for the man's statement.

"I guess Itachi does teach me a lot and help me in my training but aren't you supposed to be instructing me in kenjustu soon?" Izumi asked smiling at the man wondering if he'd forgot.

"Yup, but I thought you wanted to learn a bit of the wiring arts from Hatsue first?" Nubutaka replied.

"I've been learning from her whenever she has the time alongside Anko for the past five months." Izumi said matter of factly.

"Oh, I thought she was just training the twins?" The Monogahi said raising an eyebrow.

"She trains Imari and Inoha by instructing me and Anko to fight them with new skills she's teaching us."

"Ohhh, my ever cleaver Tsue chan killing two birds with one stone. Hatsue's a genius." Nubutaka said with more than a bit of admiration.

Imari chuckled at the love struck look in the man's eye as he thought of her teacher.

"Anyway I've got plenty of time to spare doing most days, I can train in kenjustu and the wiring arts at the same time can't I?" Izumi asked wondering why she'd been made to wait for so long.

"Of course but I created this special weapon a while ago Hatsue turned down so I wanted to give it to you. You'll need to be proficient in the wiring arts before I let you use this master piece though."

Izumi's eyes light up as she wondered what kind of sword would require her to know the wiring arts, it had to be something amazing she thought.

"I'm proficient, I can show you if you'll let me!"

"They'll be time for that later but first, I came to let you two know the others are a likely at the compound right now getting ready for individual spares. I wanted to know if you two wanted to join although no one would mind if you didn't come along, it is a day for rest and celebration after all."

"I would very much like to participate." Itachi said with no hesitation always looking for an opportunity to better himself.

"Me too!" Izumi grinned hoping Anko would be there and maybe the two could get a rematch since the purple haired girl had one their last spare at the Shimura dojo.

"Alright then, let's get going!" Nubutaka said clearly pleased as he leapt back towards the roof top and took of in the direction towards Konoha's east gate, followed closely by both Uchiha.

 **Monogahi compound**

Nubutaka arrived with Izumi and Itachi behind him and found himself being slightly surprised when he noticed two silver haired nin he hadn't expected to be joining them.

"Sup Kakashi, what brings you two our training field?" Nubutaka asked moving to greet the man.

"Amaris was taking me to see your seal master and we ran into Naruto and the others making their way here and decided we might as well come watch." Kakashi answered while Amaris and Hatsue were busy gushing over how cute Naruto was while he attempted to hide his embarrassment as Hamura and Shisui laughed on the sidelines.

"Nice to have you guys here, I know you're always busy but I try to tell Amaris she should come more often. I usually have no one to spare with."

"Oh? Maybe after the kids are done me and you could get a match?"

Nubutaka grinned at the suggestion. "It'd be an honor to fight one of Konoha's elite most jonin, to be honest I'd thought about it more than once."

Kakashi laughed lightly at the statement. "Honestly after my first spare with Amaris when I meant you on the roof top I'd been thinking the same thing."

"So we're ready to begin?" Hiashi asked feeling excited at the opportunity to watch so many skilled genin and genin hopefuls show their talents.

"Yup I think we're ready, but is it okay if your daughter participates? Naruto's just started his training and he isn't on level with the others yet."

Hiashi glanced at Hinata who was standing with the three Shimura girls and turned back towards the clan head nodding his consent.

"Great, we're all set then. Oi, time to get this started kiddos! First match, I'd like Naruto and Hinata to make their way towards the fighting area!"

"Alriight!" An excited Naruto cheered running to take his place in the fighting area of the field.

Hinata looked surprised and more than a little nervous looking to her father who nodded his head. She started making her way towards the area standing just opposite of Naruto.

 _"He looks so confident and excited in the face of battle, there's no way I can win this."_ Hinata thought taking up the stance she'd been taught.

All of the adults present and even some of the children took notice of how she was shaking slightly and her face betrayed her fear. Amaris ran towards the Hyuga and whispered something in her ear that made her calm down some but she still looked nervous.

"She can fight in a kimono right?" Nubutaka asked Hiashi not wanting Naruto to have an unfair advantage.

"Although she has no formal training fighting in such attire I don't see why not." Hiashi said hoping Hinata didn't wind up embarrassing herself or the Hyuga out there.

Nubutaka nodded and tossed a kunai high into the air.

"When the kunai hits the ground you may begin."

Hinata nodded watching the kunai climb higher into the air before turning and falling back towards the ground. Hinata's heart rate picked up as every second the kunai took to inch closer to the ground seemed like an entire minute, she could hear the pounding of her chest in her ears as if someone had taken a magnifying glass created for sound and placed one end against her chest and the other against her ears. (Yes I know what a stethoscope is.)

The woman with the silver hair told her to relax and let her instincts guide her. Naruto wouldn't hurt her during their battle anyway but she couldn't help it, her mother and father were watching along with a group of people she didn't know and her two new friends. Hinata didn't even like fighting and the blonde boy in front of her watched the kunai fall with barely contained excitement and anticipation.

Finally after what seemed like forever the kunai struck the dirt and Hinata took that as her qeue and rushed her opponent hoping to gain an early advantage.

She threw a palm strike with her left hand and watched the boy easy swat her hand to the side, bringing her right forward only to have it deftly blocked with an elbow. Planting her feet like she'd been taught she put more into her next strike hoping to get through the boys guard with another left strike while his elbow was still in the air.

The boy spun so quickly Hinata could barely follow and the next thing she knew her ankles hurt and she was on the ground. He was over her in the next second with a fist hovering a few inches from her face.

Nubutaka sighed hoping the match would've lasted a bit longer than it did. _"Kid didn't even take the opportunity to feel out his opponent before going for the win."_

"Alright Naruto!" Shisui and Hamura cheered from the sidelines while Hiashi shook his head and pretty much everyone else wondered if Hinata was okay.

The hieress sat up willing away tears that threatened to fall when Naruto surprised her by offering a hand and a smile.

"I think you could be really strong if you wanted, you came at me with your all but you were trying too hard. You've got to go with your instincts when you're fighting there isn't enough time to think."

Hinata looked at the hand questioningly. In the Hyuga compound when one got knocked down they got belittled, not offered assistance or advice.

Naruto frowned when she froze and developed a puzzled expression.

"I didn't hurt you did I?"

"N-N-No Naruto kun! It's just... just...t-thanks." She stammered grabbing his hand and looking away as her face warmed along with her chest.

Naruto grinned and pulled her to her feet and giving her a reassuring pat on the shoulder like everybody else did for him when he got upset after sparing.

Hinata continued looking to the side and the two made their way back towards the others. Hiashi sighed thinking this could be a problem in the future while Hiaku just chuckled.

"Good job you two." Nubutaka complemented once they'd gotten back. Naruto grinned while Hinata avoided eye contact with her father knowing he'd be none to pleased.

 _"I honestly wasn't expecting the boy to be so fast, maybe a bit of Minato's genes at work or the work of his training regimen."_ Hiashi wondered.

"Next up, Izumi and Anko."

Both young kunochi hopefuls wasted absolutely no time making their way towards the fighting area. Nubutaka lifted his finger flinging the kunai that was still embedded in the soil into the air, Anko and Izumi stood opposite each other looking even more anxious than Naruto had for his spare.

The kunai landed in the dirt and with a speed that surprised everyone Anko dashed forward and twisted her body in mid air nearly catching Izumi with her foot but the Uchiha easily backed out of the way at the last moment.

Anko quickly twisted again looking as if she'd attempt another kick with her right but it was a fient that caught Izumi off guard. She raised her arms at the last minute and blocked the punch but Anko seemingly expecting the block barely put any strength into the blow and leaning towards the side in a quick motion placing a hand on the ground and attempting to kick her opponent. Izumi leapt backwards avoiding her feet and Anko pressed forward.

The way she moved was weird, constantly fienting from side to side in a manner that'd make it hard to read which way she'd attack from. It was a style that gave Tsunade chills when she realized it was reminiscent of a snake.

Izumi avoid another punch from Anko but the girl spun kicking at her and forcing Izumi to dodge again. Anko moved inside her personal space and launched a palm jab that was nothing like the Hyuga's using her entire hand rather than two fingers.

Izumi side stepped the attack and used the momentum to launch a kick at the speedy girls temple, Anko bent backwards and ducked under the kick but Izumi spun launching another. Much to everyone's surprise Anko managed to leap out of the way before righting herself showing incredible dexterity and flexibility.

Izumi now realizing the girl had gotten much better decided she couldn't afford to stay on the defensive even with her style and rushed her.

Izumi got within striking distance and launched two palm jabs just as Anko had which were easily dodged, Anko retaliated with two palm jabs of her own and Izumi dodged them with just as much ease. Izumi launched a palm strike and Anko spun around it and a grinning Izumi stepped inside her guard and moved her right foot behind Anko's left attempting to throw her of balance but Anko twisted her body throwing herself away and returning the grin.

The two rushed each other and began picking up the pace Izumi no longer feeling Anko out but trying to take her down and Anko no longer demonstrating her new taijustu skills but attempting to gain a win.

Anko launched another palm jab which Izumi ducked underneath. She grabbed the girls arm and attempted to use her momentum to throw her but Anko twisted in the air and slipped from her grasp, similar to how Izumi had done in their first battle.

Anko rushed Izumi and Izumi leapt over a low kick but the flexible purple haired kunochi twisted and leapt off the ground doing a quick backflip and catching a surprised Izumi in the top of the head. Izumi stumbled away a little disoriented from the blow and Anko capitalized rushing her, Izumi's eyes bleed red surprising everyone present besides Itachi who knew she'd already unlocked her sharingan.

The girl disappeared in front of Anko as soon as the two made eye contact and Anko pulsed her chakra already being well versed in detecting and dispelling genjustu thanks to her sensei.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Izumi approaching and caught her palm jab with both her hands, before the surprised Uchiha could react Anko pulled her hand closer towards and rearing up to kick Izumi in the temple with her right leg.

Izumi grabbed her leg before she could pull it back and grabbed the wrist of one of the hands that still held hers, she spun and launched Izumi a surprising distance away showing off a strength few would expect from her small frame. Frowning she pulled six kunai from her ninja pouch, three in each hand.

 _"Izumi chan isn't playing anymore."_ Itachi thought rather interested to see how she'd handle this battle.

Anko stood up and looked at Izumi who suddenly split into three people.

 _"Genjustu."_ Anko thought knowing they weren't shadow clones and dispelling the illusion.

She was surprised to find three kunai headed her way. She quickly leapt to the side and pulled out a kunai of her own sprinting towards the Uchiha.

Unknown to Anko Izumi had already placed her in another genjustu.

 _"If I can manipulate the flow of battle the win will inevitably be mine. I'll make her see what it is I want her to see!"_ Izumi said recalling Itachi's advice earlier.

Izumi pulled out another kunai and clashed with Anko and the two began trading blows. With Anko pushing Izumi back as her style proved too unpredictable for the defensive style of her opponent. Izumi was prepared though as she'd already figured she couldn't beat Anko in close quarters combat anymore.

Izumi leapt backwards and threw three more kunai, Anko ducked under them and rushed forward to close the distance yet again but what she didn't notice thanks to the genjustu was the kunai Izumi had thrown into the air with a paper bomb attached. Izumi rushed towards Anko and the two engaged in another battle of kunai kenjustu with Izumi just attempting to hold her own long enough for the paper bomb to come back down.

Thankfully she didn't have to wait long as it fell a short distance away beside them just as she'd planned. She pulled on three ninja wires she'd attached to one of the set of three kunai she'd thrown earlier forcing Anko to leap away or risk an injury.

Sure enough Anko was now closer to the paper bomb Izumi's low level illusion kept hidden from her, Izumi raised her hand into the seal of confrontation channeling the necessary chakra and detonating the paper bomb which threw Anko a short distance away but did little real damage other than a few scorch marks and some burns here and there.

Anko stood up finding herself winded and hurting from the surprise attack but unwilling to give up. She pulled another kunai from her pouch and reentered her battle stance ready to give Izumi all she had, pulsing her chakra first as she realized she must have hidden that paperbomb with a genjustu.

The illusion faded and revealed a tired looking Izumi going through a set of hand seals and finishing with the tiger. She exhaled a stream of fire but much to Anko's surprise rather than shooting straight for her it spread out traveling along a set of ninja wire she hadn't even been aware enough to notice until now.

The wires rose from the ground as the fire seemingly made it easier for them to float in the wind. Anko was in a small flame trap with three wires on either side, spread far enough apart she could see out of them but not escape. She looked up and noticed an opening and prepared to leap outside but before she could Izumi was already falling through the opening splitting into three Izumi's in the air.

Anko pulsed her chakra releasing the genjustu and cursing those eyes of hers but all three Izumi disappeared to be replaced by one on the ground directly in front of her, before she could react that Izumi kicked her in the stomach pushing her further back and throwing two more kunai into a tree on the far side of the sparing area.

She breathed fire into those wires as well and they rose to close off the only exit to the trap. Izumi stood up straight and seemingly relaxed a little.

"Give up now Anko there's no way you'll escape this." She said smiling at Anko who stood up straight and started grinning.

"There's one thing you forgot though Izumi." She said puzzling the girl who thought for sure she'd end it with this.

"What's that?" She asked cautiously pulling out another kunai and readopting a fighting stance.

"I have yet to use a single justu." She said shocking Izumi who wasn't aware that she'd known any.

"Ninja art: Gasious mist!" Anko exhaled a large cloud of mist that the spectators knew to be anything but water when the mist cloud touched the fire and a large explosion rocked the training field a moment later.

"What the hell!?!?" Tsunade yelled after witnessing the girl blow herself up along with her opponent just for the win.

"I know right, our poor little training field has seen better days." Nubutaka said calmly shielding himself from the debris.

Tsunade turned towards the man ready to rip his throat out.

"Nee chan!!!" Inoha yelled as her eyes welled with tears at the sight of what just happened. Imari was frozen in shock same as most of the spectators.

"That girl must have been crazy." Kakashi intoned eye slightly widen as Amaris held back tears unable to believe what she'd just seen.

"I thought this was just a spare..." Naruto said feeling like he wanted to throw up. "Those two can't really be dead right?"

Hamura and Shisui looked on in shock same as Hiashi and Hiaku who couldn't believe what just happened. Itachi felt a deep pain in his chest, it hurt him physically much more than it did when he'd come to terms with the truth of the world.

Izumi couldn't be dead could she? She was just here and now he'd never see her again, he felt a sting in his eyes and reached up to touch his eye lid pulling his finger away to come away with a tear.

Hatsue who had Anko train with Imari and Inoha regularly when she wasn't on anbu duty didn't believe for a second Anko had just killed herself to win a spare. Sure growing stronger meant a lot to the girl but to her winning was only a sign on her strength, it actually meant next to nothing for her.

The smoke cleared and the ground was completely scorched and devoid of any life forms. Inoha let out a shrill cry of sorrow and everyone else present besides Nubutaka Hatsue Neji Kakashi and Hiashi felt their eyes beginning to water if they already hadn't started.

Nubutaka looked on casually while Hatsue had a look of concentration on her features, Hiashi Kakashi and Tsunade were all frowning at what'd just happened.

Nubutaka sighed and rubbed the back of his head and Tsunade whirled around intent on beating the man within an inch of his life for allowing this to happen and acting so nonchalant about it when the ground cracked drawing everyone's attention back towards the scene of the explosion.

The ground cracked again and Anko emerged pulling in a sharp breath of air as if she'd been suffocating inside the earth.

Nearly everyone in the clearing shot the girl a muderous glare but none so more than Itachi who upon laying eyes on her decided to kill the girl. He was aware of his sharingan activating involuntarily and for some reason they felt different than usual, he hardly cared about that right now though.

He took a step forward uncaring about the pain in his eyes wiping away what he thought was a tear, when the ground beside Anko cracked and out emerged a clone of her pulling up a very tired looking Izumi.

Everyone in the clearing save Nubutaka Hatsue Neji and Jiriya breathed a sigh of relief as the twins rushed towards their sister and burried their faces against her sobbing.

She looked at them questioningly wondering what the hell had them so worked up. "My body hurts guys." She said hoping to get some reprieve but Imari and Inoha either didn't hear her or they didn't care.

Itachi was at Izumi's side before he'd even known he'd moved helping the clone ease her to the ground as she seemed too tired to stand.

She looked at him questioningly before her eyes went wide when landing on his. "Itachi.."

He didn't answer, his voice had seemingly left him at the moment. He continued to look over Izumi ensuring she hadn't received any fatal injures.

"Your eyes..." Izumi said sounding as if she couldn't quite believe what she was seeing.

"What about them." Itachi said letting his sharingan fade satisfied that she'd be okay and bringing his onyx pools up to meet hers.

Izumi didn't say anything for a moment just continued to stare at him looking somewhat bewildered. She brought her hand up underneath his eyelid and pulled it back coming away with a tear on her finger.

"You're crying.." She said sounding like she couldn't quite believe her own words. "What's wrong Itachi?" She asked sounding concerned.

Itachi smiled and let one of his tears fall freely knowing this one wasn't a tear of sadness, he decided he'd actually allow it just this once.

"Nothings wrong Izumi." He said allowing himself to pull his best friend in for a hug.

Izumi didn't know how to react as heart started racing and her face began to heat up at Itachi's odd behavior. She wrapped one of her arms around him uncaring of what was going on at the moment and just allowing herself to enjoy the feeling.

Nubutaka practically gushed over how adorable the two were on the sideline and Tsunade turned around lifting the man up by his shirt.

"How the hell did you know they were alive and why didn't you say anything!?"

Nubutaka smirked at the woman before disappered in a shroud of shadow and rising from the shadow she cast at her back.

"Manhandling people is rude. You could just ask you know, volience will get you nowhere."

"Answer me damnit or we'll see how far volience gets me!" Tsunade said cracking her knuckles.

"I'm friends with the author."

"What!?!?"

"He's a sensory nin." Hamura said coming to stand next to his brother. "And a jerk for not telling us anything." He said with a frown.

"You guys should have honestly known winning doesn't mean that much to Anko. I can see Tsunade and our Hyuga visitors being confused but you guys are pretty much her friends use your heads, and the reason I didn't tell you dear slug princess is simple."

"You're a sensory nin same as I am, Hiashi Hiaku and Hizashi are capable of seeing through the ground if they wanted. Everyone else here besides Amaris Naruto and Kakashi should know Anko well enough to know she wouldn't do something like that."

"I'm pretty sure Hatsue and Neji knew. As shinobi we're trained to see with our minds not our hearts, it surprises me how often people forget that."

Neji was surprised at the comment, his sensei could really be a hard ass when it came to teaching people lessons sometimes. Even shinobi who were older and more experienced than him, he was really glad he was his sensei.

Kakashi had to admit the man had a point. Amaris frowned at her cousin and made a mental note to chew him out about it later.

Hiashi could only respect the man's words, no doubt he'd help his daughter shape up into a fine kunochi. Hiaku was surprised at the man's change in demeanor. Hizashi felt the same thing as his brother, a greater respect for the man.

Tsunade wanted to throttle the man but figured there was some truth to what he was saying and chasing him around would be too difficult.

"Doesn't mean you aren't a jerk for it though." Shisui said sparing him a frown.

Nubutaka's grin returned and some of the tension dispersed.

"I'm willing to accept that title, you guys should know no one is dying on my watch anyway." He said giving some sort of signal with his hand.

Two clones faded into view and smirked at the group before forming a set of hand signs and disappearing again.

"Safety is my number one concern in these spares, you guys shouldn't think so little of me."

"Hey, you mind having your clones preform that justu again so I can copy it with my sharingan? That's the world reflection you used during our first spare right?" Shisui asked seemingly forgetting all about what just happened.

"It's yang style, you think you can learn it?" Nubutaka asked looking at him curiously.

"I don't see why not considering the second Hokage had a water affinity and he used yin style techniques, it'll probably just take me a while!" Shisui said looking excited.

"If you're really offering to teach it I wanna learn too!" Hamura said perking up and adopting the same look as Shisui.

"Me three!" Naruto said coming to stand between the two with the same facial expression.

"Okay I'll show you guys the hand signs but you've gotta wait till after your sparing sessions to try it, it's very chakra consuming if you aren't used to it." He said proceeding to slowly preform the seals.

Tsunade and the others watched surprised by how easily he'd been forgiven.

 _"These_ _kids must really respect him."_ She thought deciding there really wasn't a much point in holding a grudge if the younger generation could forgive him so easily.

She still felt a little upset though and wasn't gonna just let it slide that easily.

"Oi, Nubutaka! I demand compensation for the emotional stress that little moment caused me. I want a bottle of sake from you before the end of the day, and none of the cheap stuff!"

The Monogahi turned around with a raised eyebrow before his face broke out into a grin.

"Hell, I'll get you two bottles of your favorite kind."

Tsunade grinned realizing one of the reasons everybody must like this guy so much.

Kakashi laughed on the sidelines wondering why he hadn't thought of something like that, Amaris grabbed his hand and asked him how he'd compensate her for having his sharingan sealed.

He seemed to think it over for a moment before whispering something in her ear that made her go cherry red. Maybe the Sannins book had corrupted her Mask kun after all.

"Hey Hinata! Wanna learn the hand seals to this justu with us?" Naruto called to a still teary eyed Hinata.

"Uhm...s-sure, Naruto kun!" She said quickly making her way over towards him and the others.

Hiaku smiled thinking it would be good for her daughter to be around Nubutaka and the others. Hizashi watched the handsigns discreetly trying to appear uninterested but who could resist an invisiblity justu?

Jusino and Lilly stood next to Tsunade and Jusino was just grateful Lilly hadn't started tearing up like everyone else had. Secretly he was watching the handsigns to the justu just as Hizashi was.

Meanwhile Imari and Inoha who'd gotten over their crying fit we're chewing Anko out in a way she hadn't known her adorable little sisters to be capable of, a part of her wished they could just go back to hugging her.

Once they finished Hatsue stepped forward and began taking her turn and Anko promised herself she'd never do something like that again.

She was just grateful Hamura and Shisui looked too busy watching Nubutaka form handsigns to notice, no doubt they'd take great pleasure teasing her about it later.

Itachi helped Izumi to her feet and helped her walk back towards the others. She'd said she was capable of walking on her own but Itachi wasn't hearing it, she'd used a lot of chakra on her genjustu's and he didn't want her fainting and hurting herself.

Nubutaka suggested they all take a break until the next match considering the emotional stress of what'd just happened but everyone participating insisted that they continue.

He relented eventually and looked at the group knowing Inoha and Neji were rivals so he called on them next.

The two both made their way towards the now scorched and dirtless battle area that was just rock now and stood across from each other with confident smirks.

Nubutaka took out a kunai and hurled it in the air. Just then a beaten and bruised Jiriya flickered behind them in the clearing and walked to stand between Nubutaka and Tsunade.

"So what'd I miss?" He asked noticing Tsunade was currently healing Izumi's injures while Nubutaka was working on Anko's.

"Well Mr jack of all trades here let the purple haired one nearly kill herself and the other girl." Tsunade said plainly.

"And Naruto beat the Hyuga girl."

"Nice one kid." Jiriya said offering Naruto a smile and a look that said don't think I forgot you rated me out traitor.

Naruto just smiled and rubbed the back of his head nervously.

The kunai touched stone and fell, Inoha and Neji rushed each other proving to both be faster than Anko and Izumi.

Inoha swung with a right hook which Neji quickly ducked under bringing his right arm forward for a palm strike which Inoha quickly batted to the side, spinning and aiming a kick at his head.

Neji backed up and avoided the blow and launched a series of Hyuga style palm jabs at her which she deftly weaved showing an impressive reaction time considering Neji's hands blurred as they moved.

Inoha went low towards the ground ducking under a palm strike and attempting to sweep his legs out from under him but Neji jumped and brought his right foot down causing Inoha to quickly throw her body against the ground and roll out of the way. Neji followed her attempting to capitalize but she pushed off the ground kicking out at him and catching herself with her hands after he dodged, preforming a front flip in his direction and attempting to bring her heel down on the Hyuga.

Neji moved out of the way and launched another series of palm jabs all of which Inoha dodged and attempted to counter but Neji kept swatting her hands away. Inoha jumped into the air and spun landing a hard kick against Neji's guard and pushing him back.

Everyone who hadn't seen Izumi fight before found themselves impressed by the girls strength and speed. Hiashi and Hizashi found themselves high impressed by Neji's resilience, that kick really looked to pack a punch.

The Shimura girl preformed a series of cartwheels closing the distance and Neji rushed forward. He held his hand up ready to go in for a strike when she flipped into the air above him and twirled in a graceful arch coming down quickly and cracking the ground where Neji just stood.

The Hyuga was upon her in an instant launching more palm jabs and attempting to step on her feet likely attempting to hold her in place for a moment or just distract her. She seemed familiar with the tactic though as she managed to avoid his attempts and even did the same launching two palm strikes for every three of his jabs.

The two were smirking at each other all the while seeming to really be enjoying themselves. Neji then did something that surprised both his father and his uncle.

"Eight triagrams air palm!" He shouted switching from palm jabs to a palm strike sending a gust of chakra out of his hand.

Inoha reacted quickly breaking away from their little dance and hitting the ground again so the compressed blast of air flew over her head. Neji rushed her again but she took a move from Izumi's book spinning on her hands and kicking at him repeatedly surprising him as he'd never seen her do this before.

She pushed off the ground and went into another front flip and Neji was sure she'd attempt to kick him again but in a surprising display of agility and acrobatics she spun again and launched a palm strike.

Neji's smirk turned into a grin as he blocked the palm strike and she leapt away gaining some distance.

"Growing nervous now are we Inoha chan?"

"Not at all Neji kun, although that air palm let's me know you are." Inoha said returning the grin.

"Hardly, the air palm is taijustu you know?" He defended wondering if he could use it again or if it'd just been a heat of the moment thing.

Surely his father and his uncle were surprised as no one had bothered teaching him the technique yet he just happened learned it on the spot just now.

"Uhn huh..and my crystal style is just genjustu." Inoha replied sarcastically.

Neji's grin turned into a smirk. "Well then, if you're feeling the need to use your crystal style to keep up with my taijustu go ahead, by all means."

Inoha smirked at the comment and crossed her arms. "I'm sorry, I thought you were the one struggling to keep up here?"

Neji scoffed and put his arms in his sleeves. "I've hardly even broken a sweat Inoha chan, I notice you seem to be trying your hardest however."

It was Inoha's turn to scoff this time. "You wouldn't know my hardest if it knocked you over the head and said I want a rematch when you woke up. I may have slipped up and let you win our last match but I'll even the score with this one."

"You'll do no such thing. My intention was to widen this gap the moment the word spare left you mouth at the food vendors stall."

"Well then I hate to disappoint you Neji kun, but if anyone's gonna widen the gap it'll be me later, after I've already won this fight!" Inoha said rushing the Hyuga again.

Neji readopted his stance and the two began swapping blows again niether being able to land a hit on the other.

"It seems like their evenly matched." Tsunade said observing the fight.

"They are actually." Nubutaka commented causing her to raise an eyebrow.

"How do they usually settle their battle's then?"

"The first one to tire out loses." Hatsue answered in Nubutaka's place. "Let's go Inoha you can do it!" She said encouraging her student.

"You've got this Neji it's all you!" Nubutaka said doing the same knowing Inoha wouldn't be offended.

"Stop showing off, use some justu!" Shisui called wondering how the two always had so much fun fighting with purely taijustu.

It's not like it was as fun as kenjustu or anything.

"What he said!" Hamura and Naruto shouted in agreement wanting to see some justu.

Inoha and Neji paid their spectators no mind and kept fighting as they were.

Neji threw two palm jabs knowing she'd block or dodge them which she did, he stepped up and started launching a flurry of palm strikes. Attempting to keep her on the defensive until he could see an opening.

Inoha knew what he was doing and wouldn't allow it. She waited for him to over extend attempting to bait him so she could grab his arm or maybe catch him off guard but Neji was too smart.

Inoha threw herself under his next strike rolling on the ground and attempting to sweep his legs out from under him but Neji jumped over her. She was up the moment he landed and pressuring him attempting to do what he'd previously been doing and grinning as the tables were turned.

Neji grinned right back at her admitting to himself the girl was a very fast learner and if he didn't keep up with his training she might just slip past him someday.

He continued to dodge and block her punches and kicks waiting till he saw an opportunity and swatting her right arm to the side. Her left flew towards him in a follow up palm strike not even a second afterwards and he grabbed her wrist pulling her towards him and jabing at her right shoulder.

Her eyes widened at the move but she reacted quickly raising her right hand and punching Neji hard in the face just as his palm strike disabled her arm.

Neji let go of her wrist and stumbled backwards attempting to clear his head as her punch disoriented him slightly. Inoha rushed him noticing and attempting not to give him a chance to regain his bearings considering he had a huge advantage now.

With her right arm being disabled she change her style but luckily she was left handed anyway.

She launched a palm strike towards Neji's shoulder but he saw it coming at the last minute and redirected the attack attempting to counter with a palm strike of his own but she quickly twirled out of the way.

She used her momentum to launch her left leg at Neji but he caught it and she jumped into the air bringing her right knee towards him and he let go backing out of the way of the attack.

Inoha landed beside him and rushed again intent on ending this or doing as much damage as possible because she could see the focus quickly returning to his eyes. She got right under under him and launched a close range palm strike which he twirled around taking a page from her book.

She smirked and twirled while he was still in motion surprising the Hyuga when he felt one of his legs sweep out from underneath him, Neji quickly caught himself planting his foot back on the ground but it was all the time Inoha needed and she knew he wasn't entirely stable yet.

She tackled him hoping she was right because this wouldn't work otherwise, she was grateful when he fell backwards inwardly smirking that her assumption was true.

As soon as the Hyuga touched the ground she was on top of him smirking as she held a fist an inch away from his face.

Much to her surprise Neji smirked and she looked down noticing he was holding a juuken strike iches from her throat. She groaned and moved backwards standing up and extending her left hand to help the Hyuga to his feet.

"Talk about luck Neji kun." She said grinning once Neji was to his feet.

"Luck had nothing to do with it Inoha chan. If anything you're the one who got lucky, a few more seconds and I would've been able to finish you easily."

"Dream on, you disabled my shoulder by pure luck!" She said punching him playfully in the shoulder as the two went back and forth about how they should've won and the other was lucky.

Neji reopened the chakra point on her shoulder and the two began making their way back towards the others.

 _"Gai would love these two."_ Kakashi thought knowing without a doubt when it came to taijustu these two were likely the best of their generation. _(Only because Lee hasn't meant Gai yet lol)_

Hiashi wondered if perhaps a marriage agreement between the Shimura and the Hyuga involving her and Neji could be the same thing the clan wanted from the Monogahi. Then again he hadn't even seen what she was capable of in the way of kekkei genki, he would need to ask his nephew more about the girl later.

Hizashi was grinning ear to ear watching his son smile and trade banter with the girl.

 _"Oh Neji, that smile reminds me so much of myself when I used to talk with your mother."_

Everyone else congratulated them on their fight although Hamura Shisui and Naruto put a lot of emphasis on using more justu next time.

 _(The next time these two battle there will be justu involved)_

"Okay, next up-"

"I wanna go up against Imari!"

Nubutaka turned to see an excited looking Shisui and a surprised Imari.

"Well I guess it only makes sense that our two kenjustu users go up again each other. Since your ways of fighting ar-"

Shisui quickly flickered to stand in the dueling area of the field and Imari was right behind him standing a short distance away.

Nubutaka smirked at the excitement on their faces and decided the kunai wasn't needed.

"You may begin!"

The two ran and clashed with each other as soon as the words left his mouth. Imari appeared to be visibly struggling in her blade lock but Nubutaka noticed she was creating bones easier now than before, or had she been carrying those blades ahead of time?

Shisui was pushing her back clearly being physically stronger, and Imari stepped to the side ending their blade lock and taking two overhand swings at Shisui.

He deftly evaded and countered with his left making a swing of his own and a follow up jab with his right after she'd dodged the swing. Imari spun around avoiding the jab and using her momentum to bring both her blades around clashing the the sword in Shisui's left hand, which he'd been bringing around for another attack.

Shisui spun to the right both swords rapidly striking against hers and pushing her blades back. He brung the blade in his left around again and Imari rolled underneath the swing into a crouch, holding her right arm towards her left and her left arm towards her right intent on making a quick slash at both his akilies tendons but Shisui was too fast and he spun again going low towards the ground bringing his right blade towards her.

Imari didn't seem at all surprised by his speed and actually smiled bringing her left blade forward and parrying his strike, knocking his right arm back and bringing the right blade forward to block the one that came right behind it and stopping his spin.

Shisui readjusted his grip on the sword in his right, bringing it down towards Imari's shoulder and she broke their blade lock, swatting it away with the blade in her right hand.

He brought the blade in his left forward slashing at her in a horizontal arc but Imari quickly twirled deflecting the swing and and using her momentum to push Shisui back, least he receive a viscous gash across his torso.

Imari threw one of her blades after him and Shisui moved to the side avoiding it, Imari was in front of him in the next second slashing and making jabs towards him with her blade.

Shisui noticed she wasn't as good with one blade as she was with two and planned to capitalize on that when she stuck her elbow out at him and out emerged a bone blade. He quickly moved out of the way and she took the moment of reprieve to take the blade out of her elbow effectively giving her two again.

She spun around and used the momentum from her twirl to block both of Shisui's sword strikes. He pulled his swords back and swung at her with his the blade in his left hand and she ducked underneath it quickly bringing her blade up to knock away the one in his right he planned to followed up with.

With his right hand still in the air he spun using the kenetic energy to bring the arm down and making two fast and powerful consecutive strikes which she blocked that still managed to push her back a bit.

She ran back towards Shisui and he ran ready to meet her, but she dropped towards the ground surprising him as she slide underneath his legs and made a slash towards his akilies tendons.

He flickered away to ensure he avoided the strike and quickly rushed back towards her.

He got within striking distance and Imari leapt into the air and spun, forcing Shisui backwards as her blades were moving to fast for him to hope to block.

She rushed after him and Shisui switched his stance to something that resembled hers but looked tighter causing her to smirk.

They both leapt at each other spinning in the air knocking each other's blades to the side. They landed and rushed each other, Imari jumped and twirled attempting to overwhelm him with repeated high speed sword strikes.

Shisui leapt catching her by surprise when in a split second as she was twirling his sharingan caught her eyes and he kicked her back towards the ground.

She landed and rushed forward twirling and making two rapid slashes as he landed. As was expected he blocked her attacks and launched two of his own a horizontal slashes which she dodged a vertical slash which she blocked and another vertical slash which she parried only for her eyes to widen as a kick quickly slipped pass her guard launching her a short distance away.

Luckily for her she'd expanded her rib cage to cover the area around her stomach at the last moment and the attack didn't leave her that winded.

Usually shinobi would excerse their core regularly to ensure body blows didn't hurt them too much but admittedly Imari was behind on that. She preferred working on her flexibility and speed over her endurance.

Shisui didn't let up, he quickly closed the short distance and tossed one of his blades towards her. Imari quickly stepped out of the way and he flickered giving the girl a well justified sense of dread as she realized why he'd discarded one of his weapons so easily

Much to the shock of the shinobi present who weren't used to seeing Shisui fight he flickered right behind Imari grabbing the blade he'd throw right out of the air and twisting around to slash her across the back with both swords before she'd had the time to react.

Imari cursed herself at falling for the obvious move that only someone like Shisui could pull off like that.

She spun around and attempted to return fire but the Uchiha was gone already, thinking fast Imari forced a number of sharp bones to grow out of her spinal cord pushing back a surprised Shisui who would've likely impaled himself had he committed fully to the attack.

Good thing he knew Imari was pretty crafty and it wasn't easy to catch her off guard. Her bones retracted slowly and Shisui found himself wondering for the second time that day how it felt when she did that.

"Those two seem very familiar which each other's movements." Tsunade commented.

"Shisui's style is an adaptation of hers he created to better suit himself but honestly I think he just thinks it looks cool. He'd do better if he created his own kenjustu style to suit his speed and natural abilities." Nubutaka said not taking his eyes of the fighters.

"Her style isn't made for speed?" Tsunade questioned watching the two fast paced kenjustu users do battle.

"No although speed is one of it's greatest strengths, it's actually created more for unpredictability on top of flexibility."

"So basically the Uchiha is unknowingly limiting himself and by doing so he's throwing her off her game?" Tsunade questioned sparing a look at Nubutaka.

"Exactly." He remarked smiling at the two.

"Imari!" He called causing the two to looked at him curiously.

"Be yourself, don't let Shisui dictate the pace of the fight!" Hatsue said before he even had the opportunity shooting him a teasing smile.

Imari smirked after hearing her sensei's words and realized it was good advice.

Shisui didn't know what they were talking about but he tightened his stance just in case.

The spikes finished sliding inside her back and the wounds on her skin quickly sealed shut and Shisui found himself wondering about that too, but he didn't want to be rude and just ask her about it. She seemed pretty self conscious about her kekkei genki and even uncomfortable with it sometimes. Her kenjustu was one thing she held a lot of pride in though.

Shisui winced upon noticing the damage he'd done to the kimmono and hoped it wasn't expensive. He had to give her Inoha and Anko credit for fighting inside kimmonos anyway, although Anko's had really only been like a half kimmono. Hell he even gave Hinata her props for fighting in one of those things, how they did it he was grateful he would never have to know.

Imari turned around and fixed Shisui with a determined stare. The message was pretty clear, 'don't think you're going to just win this easily'. He smirked at the look as his eyes sparkled seemingly daring her to come get him.

She rushed forward and twirled when she got within striking distance slashing at him from different angles nearly five times in the next two seconds. She jumped into the air over him as soon as he moved to counter, and spun bringing her blades down.

Shisui brought his blades up to block but he found she'd abandoned the blades as they slammed against his guard with no apparent force.

She'd already landed on the ground and attempted to sweep his legs out from under him, he quickly took two steps backwards easily moving out of range of her attacks.

She grabbed both of her swords before they could touch the ground and they both rushed forward again.

He took up a defensive stance curious as to what she'd do next and she placed both her arms across her chest and created more bone swords from her elbows, twirling and leaping into the air. She began spinning so fast he couldn't follow all four of her blades at once. He flickered away to gain some distance and she flickered toward him swinging her hand and throwing sharp bone fragments at him.

Shisui held up his blade blocking the shards and she was in front of him again slashing at him with the blades in her arms in rapid succession.

For every two of her strikes he at least managed one or two counters but she'd use the blades coming out of her elbows to block or parry those and other than just being surprised by the way she used to blades he was curious how it felt to use a part of your own body as a weapon.

She flipped over head after he blocked her last swing and spun, Shisui held his blade up blocking the twirling blades as well as the bones he knew to have grown out of her spinal cord.

She landed on his side rather than behind him and held her fingers up launching a number of bone spikes at him from nearly point blank range Shisui flickered again and she jumped into the air unwilling to take and chances.

He appeared a short distance away from where they'd been standing and she increased her bone mass falling to the ground faster as Shisui put one of his swords back in the holder and held one in his right hand.

She landed on the ground and after disappearing from sight Shisui was behind her in the next instant. They began slashing wildly at each other niether gaining ground over the other as Imari watched Shisui's moves taking a moment to look at his eyes.

 _"He isn't taking me seriously."_ She realized now noticing his movements we're casual since he'd activated the sharingan.

He mostly just countered her attacks never really moving to launch one of his own.

 _"She knows I'm not really taking her seriously."_ Shisui thought seeing her eyes narrow and her lips form into a tight line.

She flickered away ending their little skirmish and looking at him with a frown of annoyance.

"Why aren't you taking me seriously?" She asked in a tone that practically demanded an answer.

Shisui shrugged not really sure, usually when he spared with Hamura and Itachi or Shikono sensei they went all out. He hardly even held back on Neji these days since the Hyuga managed to beat him once but Imari was different for some reason. He preferred to watch her fight rather than just going for the win, even though she was definitely one step ahead of him in pure kenjustu when he wasn't using his sharingan.

Imari's frown deepened at his shrug, sure Shisui was ahead of her by two years and even considered a prodigy among his clan but she was past having her opponents who weren't jonin go easy on her. That was no way for her to get stronger and she wouldn't tolerate it.

"I'm gonna make you take me seriously then!"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow on the sidelines. "Remind you of someone?" He asked a giggling Amaris who knew what he was talking about.

Tsunade and the other older Shinobi besides Nubutaka and Hatsue wondered if niether of the fighters had been trying their hardest till a moment ago, what more skill could they possibly be hiding.

Imari placed her swords in the ground and ripped the sleeves from her kimmono with a hard look of determination in her eyes right atop the annoyaned glare she was shooting Shisui. She ripped away the lower half of her kimmono as well revealing a set of leather shinobi shorts that explained why her and her sisters had moved so freely inside the tightly wond kimmonos with no fear of ripping them.

She seemingly adopted an aloof stance that was made to look like no stance at all but Shisui could tell otherwise.

He grinned pulling his other sword back out of it's holder and re-entering his stance hoping Imari didn't disappoint.

She kicked her sword from the end that was inserted in the ground causing it to twirl in the air, she turned and preformed a round house kicking it towards Shisui and doing the same with the other. Shisui easily side stepped both of the blades assuming them to be a distraction, albeit a rather impressive distraction, and found his assumption to be soundly based.

Imari was in front of him the moment he'd dodged the second blade. She launched a punch towards his head, Shisui ducked and quickly pulled his face up to lean backwards and dodge her right leg which she'd brought around to kick him.

As her foot passed by his face appearing to go by in slow motion Shisui saw a hint of white and quickly leapt away seeing a sword of bone break through her sandal not a moment later.

She flickered a short distance behind him and closed the distance, Shisui brought his blade up and a blade of bone that escape her skin classing with his. She lowered her bone density and pushed off the ground easily sailing into the air over him.

Shisui's eyes caught hers, she had a frown on her face and her eyes seemingly spoke to him.

They spoke of his own defeat causing him to smirk as he realized she was no longer testing herself but really seeking to gain the win.

His eyes slowed everything down and he was amazed by what happened next. He saw a bone extend from both her hands, two from either side of her elbows, one from her knee's and her chest, and a number of them extending along her spine. She raised her bone density again and landed beside him.

She spun swinging both her arms forcing Shisui to block four blades of bone nearly all at once, she lowered the density leaping into the air and raising it again as she was over Shisui twirling.

Shisui noticed the bones she'd just created had disappeared only to reappear right before she launched her next attack. He was grateful to have a sharingan or he might easily find himself caught off guard by this style.

He held up both his blades as bones struck them both repeatedly and he felt his feet sliding back on the ground, he wondered why it seemed like her attacks seemed to have more force behind them now.

The bones disappeared again as her attack momentarily ceased.

She landed on Shisui's left and stuck her hand out launching a number of bone spikes at the Uchiha, Shisui ducked under them feeling one graze his cheek. Imari spun and all her bones grew again but twice as long as they were before forcing him backwards.

She followed spinning again and forcing him further back against his will as he blocked her blades and found he couldn't hold his ground without first planting his feet.

She began making powerful overhand swings forcing him to hold his blades up above his head or his shoulders so she could make attempts to slash or pierce him with the blades she made come out of her feet at her convenience.

She leapt again and spun in a circle this time giving him not a moments rest as her blades continuesly pressured him. At the last moment she lowered the density and kicked off his blade landing on his right and twirling again and releasing her bones again, forcing him backwards as with her every movement came at least two or three attacks.

Imari was no longer using weapons to fight Shisui, she was the weapon she would used to fight Shisui.

She shot a number of bones spikes out of her rib cage catching him by surprise again, but his sharingan had shown him what was to come and he threw four shurieken stopping four of them and blocking the other two with one of his swords.

Imari wasn't far behind them, she twirled again using the bones in her hands and elbows to attack. Shisui blocked all of the attacks but her twirl wasn't over and she extended her foot which now had a lengthy blade of bone coming from it.

Shisui flickered away unable to react in time and Imari frowned letting the bones slowly disappear back inside her skin.

"If you're gonna keep using the flicker I'm not gonna fight far either." She said clearly upset. Shisui was obviously still toying with her.

He raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "If you wanna use justu be my guest, I'll just stick to the flicker."

"Fine then." Imari said as single bone extended out of the center of her forehead like a horn and one out of the back of her neck.

Shisui felt like he was really pissing Imari off so he'd might as well just end it on his next opportunity. Much to his surprise she created two blades of bone and held one close to her chest and the other directly in front of her.

Shisui wondered if it was some kind of bluff. The style she'd just been using was probably the deadliest he'd seen from her so far, keeping her bones beneath her skin till she was in the motion of launching an attack was ingenious.

He had to stay alert to the best of his capabilities when she was fighting like that because an attack could come from anywhere she chose at any moment. Her stance now looked to be based heavily on defense, why trade an attack like the one she'd just had for defense if she was going for the win?

"Are you gonna call my bluff or keep standing there." She taunted.

Shisui smirked and twirled his swords in his hand before rushing towards her to comply with her request.

Their swords clashed and Shisui began slashing at her to see exactly what she had with the style, surprised when she casually blocked every strike as if it was child's play to her.

His smirk only increased as he decided maybe she was worth his A game.

"Hey-" Shisui said making a right handed vertical slash at Imari which was easily blocked.

"Imari?" He questioned dodging a horizontal counter attack from Imari and blocking a follow up vertical slash.

"Yea-" Imari replied back stepping to avoid Shisui's counter slash.

Shisui saw a temporary lasp in her guard as she backed away and made a split decision to disarm her, no doubt she'd be expecting a follow up attack but not one meant to disarm.

He switched the blade in his right hand into a reverse grip and slammed it hard into the blade in Imari's left hand causing it to fly from her grasp, he moved to captialize on the momentary lack of defense on her left side.

He spun to the left and aimed both his blades at her side before she had the chance to make another or jump out of the way.

Imari quickly brought up the blade in her right hand putting both hands on it and lifting it over her back turning to the left slightly and catching his blade with hers, right before Shisui's blades had connected with hers she'd raised the density of all the bones in her body giving herself the strength to stop his attack.

"Shisui?" She questioned wondering what he could possibly want to talk about at the moment.

She couldn't help the small smirk that graced her features at his look of surprise. He hadn't been expecting her to block that apparently.

"Nice manuver!" He grinned pulling his swords away and taking a few steps back.

She looked at him questioningly wondering why he backed away when the logical thing to do was press the attack.

"Uhh..thanks." She said blushing lightly.

He smiled before noticing the horn on her head for a second time and wondering what that and the one of the back of her neck were for, she didn't seem to be using them for anything and it puzzled him but he'd have to ask later.

"I was wondering if you still wanted me to take this seriously or not?"

Imari's confused expression turned into one of joy and she smiled brightly nodding her head. Shisui grinned wondering how she could be so serious one moment and practically adorable the next.

"Okay Imari, but remember I'm a genin with actual battlefield experience." Shisui said placing one of his swords in his holder and adopting a stance that only Nubutaka and his teammates had seen him use.

She grinned and twirled her blades expectantly. The wind blew blowing a few leaves from the tree's and one came floating into the space between them slowly approaching the ground.

The moment it landed they both rushed forward Shisui surprising nearly everyone with his increase in speed.

 _"That kid just went from high genin to high chunin."_ Tsunade thought wondering who in the hell the kids sensei was.

The two began clashing at a much faster pace than they'd been going at it before, with Shisui blurring in and out around Imari keeping her on the defensive as she was seemingly overwhelmed.

She smiled all the while though and everyone besides Hatsue and her sisters wondered how she was even able to keep up with Shisui. She wasn't nearly as fast but apparently she could predict his attack patterns.

The world moved by in a rush for Shisui but slow for his sharingan as he channeled chakra into his legs amplifying his already fair speed.

Imari blocked an attack from the right twisting in the next second to block one from behind raising her blade to block a horizontal strike from her left. Shisui came in for another attack and she pushed a number of bones outwards from her body and he flickered away to avoid being impaled.

As soon as she drew the bones back in he closed back in pressuring her from every angle all in a manner of seconds. Imari seemed unbothered even though she was clearly in over her league she still managed to keep up with the Uchiha's seemingly instantaneous flicker and his fast paced fighting style.

Jiriya figured it must have something to do with the horns she created somehow. Her reaction time suddenly gotten much better after creating them.

Shisui still pressured her from every angle really surprised she was able to keep up so well even with his flicker. She was no longer attempting to fight back though she likely knew she'd lose now, but she still looked to be having the time of her life just blocking and dodging his strikes when she could although she was earning herself many shallow cuts for her troubles.

Shisui pushed more chakra into his legs as he quickly flickered behind her and rushed in knowing she'd turn at any moment.

Sure enough she turned bringing her blade up to block his but he flickered behind her before they could make contact and attempted to move his blade towards her throat to end the spare but she turned almost immediately and knocked his blade to the side.

Shisui grinned wondering how the hell she could keep up with his movements but enjoying himself. He really didn't want to accidently hurt her though and fighting at this speed was somewhat new to him so he'd end it quickly with his new technique.

He moved towards her right side bringing his sword up in an underhanded swing but flickered so quickly it left an after image. His sharingan allowed him to see Imari's eyes widen for a moment as her face became indecisive for just a second but she turned away from the after image blocking his sword at the last second.

Shisui was so stunned he actually paused and allowed her to draw him into a blade lock. She couldn't be using her eyes to track him, if she was she'd have definitely went for the after image...so in that case it was..

Shisui smirked thinking he knew how to take her down quickly but then again he couldn't necessarily do what he was planning unless he was the fourth Hokage which he knew he wasn't. He could use the shadow clone justu or any other justu besides the flicker but he didn't really want to and Imari likely wouldn't appreciate it either.

"What's the matter Shisui, losing your head?" Imari teased grinning as her blades pressed against his.

He smirked and winked at her thinking he might have a plan before flickering away.

Imari quickly turned around blocking a kunai headed towards her back she shouldn't have been able to see. She jumped feeling a blade press against her throat and knowing it was too late to do anything.

She sighed in defeat but turned to shoot Shisui a wide grin as he released her and backed away. "Next time fight me like that from the start damnit!"

"Language Imari." Anko said narrowing her eyes at her little sister before she realized what she'd just done.

 _"Oh no...have I become my sensei!?"_ Anko panicked hoping she wouldn't adopt all of Orochimaru's mannerisms.

"Sorry sis!" Imari said sparing her an apologetic look before turning back to Shisui.

"I'm not really used to fighting like that without deadly intent." Shisui said rubbing the back of his head.

"When you started fighting how you did towards the end I realized we'd be fighting for a while if I just kept using the flicker without any other justu. Plus you wanted me to get serious anyway."

"I did and you did, and it was a blast. How'd you get so fast so quickly? We were nearly the same speed a couple of months ago."

Shisui's smile disappeared for a moment. "When Hamura was injured I decided to improve my speed so in case we got out numbered on a mission again I'd be able to dispatch my enemies faster."

"Oh.." Imari said remembering when her cousin had come back to Konoha after nearly losing his arm, it'd been really sad to see him like that.

"Well you were amazing Shisui kun, you've got to fight me like that again sometime!"

Itachi smiled at the excited gleam in her eyes and blushed lightly at the admiration he saw.

"S-Sure Imari, I'd be glad to...but you gotta tell me how you were able to keep up with me without using your eyes to do it."

"Oh, that's easy." She said pointing to the horn on her head and the one on the back of her neck.

"I grow these bones with super low density and make the nerves around them really sensitive so I can feel what's around me, I can't predict movements like the sharingan but I can sense them as soon as they happen." She said smiling proudly.

"Woah that's amazing, can I touch th-" Shisui pulled his hand back like it was on fire as Imari let out a low moan he hadn't been expecting.

"I-I'm sorry I didn't hurt you did I?" Shisui said as his face warmed up.

 _"Kami please let Hamura and Itachi be paying attention to something else right now, that was weird."_

"N-No...they're just really sensitive, I should've warned you..sorry." Imari said averting her gaze from the Uchiha's.

"No it's my fault I shouldn't have touched them without permission, my bad."

Imari let the specialized sensors sink back into her skin and gave Shisui a smile that said no hard feelings hoping her blush wasn't too noticable.

Shisui swallowed the lump in his throat and returned the smile before the two bowed respectfully to one another.

Meanwhile on the sidelines Hamura and Anko were arguing about the usual, who could eat more while Naruto laughed at both of the older kids. He'd out eat both of them if it came down to it.

Neji thought of asking Nubutaka to allow him a kenjustu match with either of the shinobi in front of him, they were both very skilled and it could definitely help him to improve.

Inoha was waiting for Imari to get back so she could congratulate her on a good fight, she wondered what that sound Imari made was about but didn't put much thought into it.

Kakashi wondered what the heck they were feeding children at the academy these days, half of his class was pathetic. These kids could have probably taken down all of them with little difficulty.

Amaris talked with Hatsue about both her full time students and Anko as well.

Jiriya and Tsunade both had gutter minded thoughts about that moan but wouldn't voice them, just how sensitive were those things to make a young girl make a noise like that at a small touch?

Nubutaka looked at Shisui and Imari and spared Izumi and Itachi a glance before turning back around and making up his mind. _"Sorry little cousin but the Izumi and Itachi are still the cuter couple. Who's to say I can't root for you guys too though?"_

Meanwhile Hinata and Izumi were talking with one another while Hiashi inwardly frowned at Shisui and Imari's apparent but unapparent fondness of each other. The Uchiha were close to scoring another point already, Hiaku just thought it was cute though.

Itachi was one of few of the children observing Shisui closely, was that a blush he saw on his cousins face? Oh Shisui...

 _"I've got you now dear cousin."_

He reminded himself that revenge was unbecoming of a shinobi such as himself, but it would be oh so sweet.

"Okay guys, Itachi and Hamura up next!" Nubutaka called.

Both genin quickly made their way towards the training field, Hamura showing more excitement than Itachi but Itachi looking forward to the battle none the less.

Nubutaka pulled out a kunai and tossed it into the air. Itach's sharingan flared to life and Hamura smirked at the knowledge that his teammate would be taking this seriously from the start.

The kunai hit the ground and both young shinobi were immediately running through hand seals.

 _"Fire style: Fireball justu!"_ Itachi breathed a fireball at a grinning Hamura who'd planned on doing the same till Itachi beat him to forming the seals.

 _"Water style: Water bullet!"_

Both justu crashed against each other shrouding the immediate area around the genin in a warm mist.

Itachi kept his eyes his ears and his feet on high alert, Hamura was just as fond of direct attacks as he was ground or aerial.

"Wind style: Gale tyhpoon!"

"Fire style: Fireball justu!"

Itachi leapt out of the way of the combination attack flying towards him and turned around on instinct blocking a kunai strike from a clone that rose from the hard rock that was the ground.

He heard more kunai whistling in the wind and flickered away. He saw two Hamura charging him through the now thin mist and heard the other Hamura that'd rose from the ground racing towards him.

Itachi pulled out four shurieken and four kunai and threw them at the clone that was by itself, it dodged the first four but wasn't prepared for the shurieken that came behind redirecting the kunai the uchiha had thrown with a specific purpose.

Two kunai planted themselves in the clones back and it just kept running, no doubt a rock bunshin but Itachi had already planned for that.

He held his hand up in the seal of confrontation activating the paper bombs on the kunai and blowing the clone to smithereens.

Hamura wondered how Itachi had gotten one of his clones so easily but it was Itachi after all so he didn't think about it too much. He and his other clone closed in on Itachi who was just standing in the same place waiting for them.

Hamura went high, his clone went low but right before Hamura could attempt landing a blow against the Uchiha he burst into a flock of crows that flew around him in circles darkening his vision and cutting him off from the outside world.

He quickly pulsed his chakra in time to see Itachi's hand headed towards his neck. He preformed a replacement justu with his clone and Itachi quickly pulled his hand back and leapt away from his clone.

"Fireball justu!" Itachi said spitting a sealess fireball.

"Earth style: Mud wall!" Hamura slammed his hands into the ground protecting his clone and leapt adopt the wall already forming handsigns but Itachi was gone.

He heard his clone let out a surprised yell and he turned back just in time to see it being dragged into the ground fully, an explosion came from beneath the earth and Hamura knew his clone was finished.

He pulled out a kunai and stood on the wall waiting for Itachi to resurface but much to his surprise his clone popped up out of the ground instead of the Uchiha.

It gave a triumphant smirk and approached Hamura and he saw the sharingan in it's eyes staring at him and knew he made a mistake.

Next thing he knew he was in a boiling swamp sinking into the water that was up to his knee's as a blazing sun slowly approached him.

He pulsed his chakra feeling like he couldn't get out of the genjustu fast enough and a kunai planted itself into the wall below him.

He quickly leapt off the structure right before it was blown to smithereens and Itachi rushed him slashing at him with the kunai in his right hand and throwing punches with his left. Hamura was hard pressed to keep his gaze on his teammates hands and Itachi took advantage of this launching a sealess water bullet Hamura didn't notice until it slammed into him lifting him off his feet and throwing him a good distance away across the training field.

Thinking fast he created a sealess shadow clone as he was flying which caught him and slowed his flight right before slamming into a tree and dispelling. Hamura's stood up grinning, beyond grateful he had that clone take the hit for him.

 _"Nice to know Itachi takes me seriously enough to go for the win from the start, but then again it is Itachi and when does he ever play around."_ Hamura thought watching his opponents hands and feet careful not to gaze any higher.

Itachi pulled out a number of shurieken and Hamura created another two rock bunshin.

 _"Looks like I'll need to use a lot of justu just to keep up but I guess that shouldn't be too difficult as long as I don't give Itachi enough time to formulate a lot of plans."_

His clones rushed the Uchiha wishing they had sensory abilities so they could see him without worrying about avoiding his eyes.

One clone went high the other went low and Itachi quickly grabbed the arm of one, spinning and using his same momentum to kick the clone which had went lower. He spun one more time and tossed the clone whose wrist he held pulling out three kunai intent on taking it out when the sound of an approaching fireball at his back forced him to flicker away.

He landed in the woods a short distance away but Hamura had seen him apparently and activated a sealess firestyle justu and started hurling fire at him. Itachi moved out of the woods dodging the barrage and forming hand signs.

 _"Fire style: Phoniex fire justu."_ He spat a ball of flame at the clones who were forming hand signs of their own spitting another one at Hamura who moved out of the way and kept hurling more miniature fireballs.

He flickered away surprising Hamura he could use a justu while already using another. He appeared in the air a short distance over the battlefield and launched two more fireballs at the rock bunshin which saw him at the last minute.

One of them managed to leap out of the way while the other launched a water bullet destroying the approaching fireball but still finding itself nailed with the kunai hidden inside the fireball.

Itachi raised his hand and channeled a bit of chakra and that clone was gone.

"Earth style: Mobile core!" Hamura yelled slamming his hands on the ground.

A square piece of earth rose from the ground towards Itachi who realized as he was falling he had no way of dodging that attack. The large pillar of earth slammed into the Uchiha and Hamura let it fall back towards the ground wondering if he'd gotten him.

When the slab of earth returned to the ground a number of crows flew forward shocking Hamura who found himself making eye contact with one of them which just so happened to be in possession of a sharingan.

All of a sudden he felt like he was trapped underneath an ocean, their was darkness in every direction and he could barely move. He could barely even think, he stared into the darkness and the darkness stared back seemingly wrapping around his soul with a cold hand that threatened to drain the life from him if he so much as tried to escape.

Meanwhile Itachi rushed towards Hamura pleased that his new variant of the replacement justu worked so well. Signing the crow summoning contract was definitely a solid move on his part.

Right before he reached Hamura a rain of fiery embers cut him off and he turned to see the Monogahi's rock bunshin running towards him.

Earth style: Mud wall!" The clone shouted taking only a second to slow it's sprint and slap the ground raising a wall of earth between Itachi and the original.

Itachi didn't need to defeat the clone, he only needed to distract it long enough to land a decisive blow on the original. He knew if he was to try right now the clone would just launch another justu to keep him away.

He created a shadow with the intention of being the distraction but the rock clone wasn't having any of it and it quickly formed another set of hand seals, flickering behind Itachi's clone which had rushed foward to meet. The clone pulled it's head back as it faced Itachi and Hamura as it's hands landed in the tiger seal.

"Fire style: Great fire anahilation!" The clone shouted bringing it's head forward launching a powerful stream of fire at the ground which spread out into a large and very wide wave of flame.

 _"I hope these two don't burn down the tree's beside the compound."_ Nubutaka thought momentarily forgetting about the nature style users that'd come to Konoha with them.

Itachi's eyes widened as he registered Hamura wouldn't be safe from the justu as he was. He flickered away anyway trusting a clone of his teammate wouldn't so foolishly endanger it's creator if it knew what it was doing.

Sure enough the clone used the replacement justu with Hamura just as the flames were about to touch him.

Itachi watched the clone get destroyed by the power of it's own attack and wondered what the point of that was if Hamura was still trapped within his genjustu. There was nothing keeping Itachi from getting a decisive blow on the boy now.

He rushed forward unwilling to look a gift horse in the mouth when a hand rose from the dirt latching on to Hamura's leg.

He saw the Hamura's eyes clear up and then remembered he was a shinobi who when possible always liked to have and ace up his sleeve. It only made sense that he would leave a clone hidden somewhere around or the battlefield in case it was needed.

Hamura snapped back to reality and inhaled deeply having a new found fear and respect for Itachi's genjustu. Now wasn't the time to freeze up though, he created two more rock bunshin and decided if Itachi was going over the top he'd do the same.

His clones rushed Itachi and his clones and he began forming a set of hand seals Shisui and Itachi could recall seeing him use before.

"Wind style: Hurricane armor!" Hamura shouted as a number of strong currents of wind formed around him.

 _"Oh!"_ Nubutaka thought seeing his brother use one of his old favorites after so long.

He rushed forward at a speed that surprised everyone besides Nubutaka Amaris Kakashi and Hizashi who'd all seen him use the justu years ago.

He moved nearly as fast as Shisui had been moving previously, Itachi leapt away from the other two Hamura clones and pulled out some shurieken needed time to devise a plan for this new development.

Shisui was highly upset Hamura had been holding out on him on such and awesome technique.

He moved pass his clones quickly and rushed Itachi's clone which burst into a number of crows when he approached, Hamura closed his eyes really not wanting to be caught in another genjustu. Itachi used the replacement justu with one of the crows and attempted to kick Hamura hard in the stomach but one of the rock bunshin substituted with the boy and caught Itachi's foot.

The Uchiha smirked as the real Itachi overloaded the clone with too much chakra causing it to explode and take that bunshin with it. Itachi created two more shadow clones and came to the conclusion he'd need to come up with a plan for Hamura's hurricane armor quickly, the clones and the fire style he'd used so far had already done a number on his reserves.

The hurricane armor looked like it was pretty taxing but then again he'd never seen Hamura running low on chakra or Nubutaka either for that matter, he'd have to ask them about that later.

His clones leapt from the tree's with Itachi not too far behind them, Hamura reopened his eyes but just like his clones he wouldn't look directly into either Itachi or his clones eyes.

His clones started forming hand signs as Itachi and his clones attempted to close the distance between them.

"Earth style: Mobile core!" A clone of Hamura called out slamming it's hands into the earth causing a large platform to rise above the battlefield.

"Earth style: Rock slide!" The clone yelled casting another earth style justu without seals.

The platform began breaking apart and falling into many large pieces of rock as the other two Hamura's jumped further behind it getting a good distance away.

"Fire style: Burning tide!" One of the clones yelled waving it's head to the side and exhaling a large wave of five.

"Wide style: Grand gale!" The real Hamura yelled doing the same as his clone and spewing a large gale of wind his hurricane armor was seemingly absorbed into.

The tide of flame traveled with the wind slamming into the rocks and seemingly turning them into a shower of meteors. Itachi marveled at the scale of the attack and decided it was all or nothing at this point, Hamura was pulling no punches.

Nubutaka wondered if he should errect a wall of some sort but apparently Itachi had that covered.

"Earth style: Great mud wall!" Itachi and his clones shouted in unison forming the seals and slamming their hands into a ground.

A gaint wall of mud rose in front of the hail of flaming rock and Itachi used the hiding like a mole technique while his clones sat behind the walls reinforcing them with chakra.

 _"And some of these kids aren't even genin yet? These two are just genin, not even chunin? What the hell does a jonin look like these days?"_ Tsunade thought wondering what in the world they were putting in the academy food these days.

Hamura hoped that attack had gotten Itachi to used the last of his chakra considering he couldn't really fight him head up as long as he had enough to trap him inside of his genjustu. Admittedly his Hurricane armor and that last combination attack along with all the rock bunshin were had definitely done a number on his reserves.

It did look pretty cool though, he hoped that rock wall Itachi errected was done with the last of his chakra.

As the last of the flaming rocks slammed into the still standing wall he motioned for his clones to go check it out. What he hadn't expected was for a kunai to be placed against his neck the moment he moved to follow.

"So you used the hiding like a mole technique from behind the wall and tunneled into the forest behind me to wait for your chance?" Hamura said quickly piecing it all together.

He just asked his self what he'd of done if he was Itachi. The Uchiha nodded giving him a small smile to which Hamura just grinned and gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"Honestly I'm relieved that it's over, I'm beat and your genjustu are scary." Hamura said laughing and allowing himself to fall backwards onto the hard ground.

Itachi repressed a grin at the compliment and complimented him on his last combination attack before helping him and telling him to get onto his back before walking back towards the others.

Itachi and Hamura's clones were still fighting when they saw the two come around the wall and they stopped as everyone turned around wondering what'd happened.

Itachi let Hamura down when they stood back in front of everyone and he wasted no time falling to the ground as his clones turned back into rock falling to the ground and Itachi's dispelled.

"Itachi won." He said after a moment knowing everyone was likely wondering since the wall blocked their view.

They began questioning Itachi on how he'd done it and Hamura frowned when he felt someone continuesly poking him.

"Quit it!" He yelled opening his eyes surprised to find it was Naruto instead of Anko like he expected.

He tilted his head looking at the blonde curiously and Naruto quickly shook his head denying involvement and pointing towards a laughing Anko. Hamura developed a tick mark and tried his best to ignore her turning back to Naruto who had an unspoken question in his eyes.

"Yeah little bro?" He asked causing Naruto's eyes to light up at the way he addressed him. He always wanted a little brother and he knew Naruto wouldn't mind.

"That last attack you used was awesome! Can you teach it to me whenever you get the chance!?" He asked with an excited grin.

Hamura smiled at his enthusiasm and shook his head. "If you'd like I'll teach you everything I know someday."

Naruto's eyes light up even more as he looked at Hamura like a kid in a candy store and started naming cool justu of his he wanted to learn Hamura couldn't help but chuckle at the blonde, he reminded him of him a lot when he used to always ask Nubutaka to teach him justu.

Everyone complimented the two on a good match and Hiashi and Hizashi wondered exactly what Neji was capable of in the way of ninjustu if the others could fight on such a level and he routinely trained with them when he got the chance.

Inoha told Hamura it was reckless to waste so much chakra on a combination attack like that knowing it was a gamble and Nubutaka's agreed. Tsunade and Jiriya joked with Hiaku about preformance enhancers inside the academy food but still complimented the young shinobi on their skills.

Hatsue Izumi and Imari complimented Itachi on his use of genjustu and strategy. They all started beginning to contemplate going back to the festival when Nubutaka interrupted them.

"Hey guys wait a sec, Naruto didn't really get to properly demonstrate his skills so how's about Naruto goes up against Jusino?"

The shinobi hopeful raised an eyebrow as all eyes turned to him and he looked at Naruto before shrugging figuring it could be fun.

"Alright!" Naruto said pumping a fist into the air and making his way towards the fighting area.

Nubutaka placed two hands on the ground and the mud wall sunk back down into the earth.

Jusino made his way to the fighting area opposite of Naruto returning the blondes excited smirk.

Nubutaka took out a kunai and tossed it into the air.

"I'm not gonna go easy on you just because we're cool." Naruto said grinning at Jusino who smirked at the comment.

"Bring it on bro, come at me with your very best."

The kunai hit the ground and the two charged forward, Jusino decided he wouldn't use a kunai since Naruto was just a kid but like Naruto said he wasn't pulling any punches.

He formed a familiar handsign and three shadow clones popped into existence beside him all rushing towards Jusino and pulling out kunai while the real Naruto stood behind them.

Jusino avoided a slash from one of the clones spun kicking it out of existence. The other two followed up with slashes of their own all of which Jusino dodged. One went high and made to horizontal slashes at him with it's kunai, the other went low and made horizontal slashes at his legs.

Jusino jumped avoiding the kunai slashes and pulled out a kunai throwing it at the clones and dispelling them as they tried to launch follow up attacks while he was in the air.

He landed just in time to see a head of blonde hair bursting from the smoke and rushing towards him, he quickly braced himself for whatever the blonde had in store but instead of attempting a convientional attack Naruto slide on the ground at the last second taking Jusino's legs out from under him.

Naruto raised his hands into the same sign and three more shadow clones popped into existence just as Jusino caught himself with his hands. He quickly rolled out of the way as a clone planted a foot where he'd been previously, he rolled to his feet and saw the three clones charging him with no sign of the real Naruto.

He pulled out another kunai smirking at how he was forcing him to use the weapons he'd just told himself he didn't need. The clones got near him stopping just short of being in front of him and threw a number of shurieken and kunai.

Jusino blocked all the weapons and found the blonde surprising him again when three of the kunai burst into a cloud of smoke and three Naruto grabbed on to him holding him in place. Jusino quickly began trying to shake the clones off of him but the little blonde ball of energy was much stronger than one would think.

Another Naruto rushed towards him and jumped into the air raising it's fist back, Jusino flickered and quickly began tossing shurieken towards the three clones that'd been holding him before.

One of the clones leapt in the way of the attack blocking most of them and taking the rest of them head on dispelling as it protected it's breathen. The two clones that'd been holding him pulled out kunai and hurled them towards him as they rushed in to close the distance, the other three flickered and Jusino swore as he heard the whistle of kunai behind his head and moved hoping the kunai would hit the Naruto's in front of him.

One of the approaching clones grabbed the other by the elbow and pulled it in front of him stopping the kunai and the clone dispelled as it was hit, around five new Naruto's burst out of the cloud of smoke where only one stood before and they all charged Jusino with grins.

The brown haired boy quickly found himself surrounded by a number of Naruto who all stood around him in a circle.

Jusino pulled out a number of shurieken and gazed around him waiting for the Naruto to rush towards him, the wind blew and a leaf made it's way inside the clearing causing them to both smirk as it'd serve as the perfect signal.

The leaf touched the ground and Jusino launched the shurieken while the clones all charged towards him while his shurieken only managed to catch one of the clones.

One of the Naruto leapt into the air going high and Jusino jumped kicking it away, another came forward going for a blow of medium hieght and Jusino grabbed it's wrist, twisting it and throwing it into another. One of the other clones grabbed his arms linking it's hands over his shoulders catching him in a full nelson.

Jusino turned around with the clone holding on to him and one of the Naruto clones punched the other hard in the back causing it to dispell.

Jusino quickly ducked under a swing by another clone and grabbed it's wrist, but found himself taking a hard punch to the face by another clone he had no time to react to. He pulled on the wrist of the clone he'd caught and threw it into the one that'd just punched him turning to see another kunai flying towards him that dispelled into another Naruto that delivered a devestating right hook to his cheek sending him stumbling backwards.

The remaining two Naruto quickly created three more shadow clones each bringing them back up to a solid eight that moved to begin surrounding Jusino.

He grinned glad to see the blonde was way tougher than he seemed as Shisui and some of the older young shinobi who didn't know Naruto was an Uzumaki wondered how he could create so many clones without even looking tired.

Jusino created a rock clone that moved behind him and pulled out two kunai as he pulled out a number of shurieken and the two stood back to back waiting for the blonde to continue his assualt.

To their surprised though each clone created another copy behind itself and the copies all pulled out kunai while the others all began forming hand seals landing on the tiger seal.

Jusino and his clone quickly attempted to move knowing this could be no good and the clones in the back all launched kunai keeping them from getting anywhere.

The clones all pulled their heads back and breathed a powerful stream of fire that touched the ground and continued towards the Jusino in the center slamming together and creating a large explosion when they meant.

On the sidelines Lilly's eyes went wide as she felt tears beginning to pool in her eyes. Shisui and Hamura had hearts in their eyes after seeing the cool fire style justu and Itachi already knew that one but was surprised Naruto could do it, the A ranked dragon flame bomb.

Everyone else was likewise as impressed at the blondes use of strategy and the high level firestyle justu.

Jusino and his bunshin sat on a tree branch in the forest they flickered to to avoid the attack and began to wonder how they were going to take out the little blonde power house, it was crazy he didn't even seem winded after launching that attack, all of the blue eyes down below just looked all around the battlefield open and alert knowing he was out there somewhere.

Tsunade heard sobs behind her and turned to see Lilly crying and she quickly moved to reassure the girl that Jusino was okay, he'd flickered to avoid the attack at the last second.

Naruto while calm and collected on the outside was nearly giddy he managed to do the justu right. Usually it'd literally blow up in his face but he'd finally gotten the chakra control right and learned the technique super spikey haired toad sensei had shown him last month.

Apparently most other breathable fire style justu would come easy to him now, he'd been told the dragon flame bomb required a perfect constant flow of chakra while most other breathable fire style justu just required a controlled burst of chakra.

Jusino decided he couldn't keep just taking out clones and expecting Naruto to tire out if the blonde had reserves like this, he'd have to take out the real Naruto. How he'd figure out which of the sixteen who stood in the field that was he had no idea.

He took out a kunai and placed an explosive tag on it signaling for his clone to do the same, he told his bunshin the plan and it grinned before they both leapt into the clearing and rushed towards Naruto and his clones.

The Naruto's all grinned surprised he was trying such a direct approach but were more than willing to meet him head on. He and his clones clashed head on with the Naruto's and after only dispelling three of them and receiving a number of punches for their troubles they dropped their kunai quickly flickering away activating the explosive tags and blowing away the majory of clones leaving only three of them standing looking surprised.

Jusino and his clone smiled glad they hadn't hit the real Naruto and quickly closed the distance before either of the three could make another set of clones. The Naruto were attempting to hold their own and create some distance but pretty soon there was just one who Jusino figured to be the real Naruto considering one of the others had went out taking a hit for him.

Jusino grinned ready to end the spare when he and his clone paused for a moment after the clone yelled 'wait wait I gotta tell you something!'

Jusino and his clone paused mid strick raising an eyebrow at the blonde who smirked and pointed towards the real Jusino's shoulder.

"There's something on your shirt."

Jusino looked at where he was pointing and his eyes went wide when a senbon he hadn't even noticed stuck inside his shirt by the shoulder errupted in a poof of smoke and the next thing he knew there was a grinning Naruto on his back holding a kunai to his throat.

"No fair bro I could've just beaten you, I knew I shouldn't have waited!" Jusino said with a wide grin as the clone on his back grinned as well and poofed away.

"Yeah, I didn't really plan on using my trump card but you really surprised me when you took my clones out and I'm glad I thought of it." Naruto said rubbing the back of his head sheepishly but grinning proudly.

"Well done you little monster!" Jusino said ruffling his hair causing him to smirk.

"Alright Naruto!" Shisui Imari Inoha Izumi and Hamura cheered along with Jiriya and Anko.

Tsunade smiled at her nephews preformance and his use of shadow clones before she looked to Jiriya and frowned wondering what possessed him to teach Naruto such a dangerous fire style justu.

Hiashi nodded his approval along with Hizashi and Neji and Itachi, Kakashi and Amaris both smiled at the blondes skill thinking to congratulate him with a bowl of ramen later.

Nubutaka grinned at the blondes use of stealth and contingency with the senbon transformation, he knew the kid would be a monster if taught to apply his talents in the right way. Hatsue's grin was wider than anyone as she gushed over her little angels skill in combat. Hinata smiled happy Naruto had won and Hiaku observed her daughters rise in spirits at the blondes win.

Lilly looked amazed at what she'd just seen and she was waiting impatiently for Jusino to come back towards them so she could make sure he wasn't hurt.

The two made their way back towards the others and they were both congratulated for different reasons. Shisui and Hamura practically begged Naruto to teach them the cool fire style justu he used again and the intelligent Uzumaki said in exchange for them teaching him a justu of theirs.

Hatsue captured him in a hug telling him how proud of his progress she was and Naruto just grinned somewhat sheepishly happy he'd inpressed everyone. Jusino looked at Lilly curiously as she looked him over and then tilted his head as she turned away from him seemingly upset.

Tsunade chuckled at the girl before congratulating Naruto on his win and complimenting Jusino on the skill he showed.

Amaris approached Hatsue with a grin and whispered something in her ear causing her eyes to light up as she moved to Nubutaka and whispered something in his ear causing his eyes to light up as he developed a wide grin.

"Okay guys! Before we head back to the festival we've got a special treat in store for all of our spectators and our strong young shinobi. You guys get the pleasure of watching a sparing match between none other than Hatsue Uchiha, and Amaris Monogahi."

The eyes of all the younger shinobi widened as they finally got the chance to see a battle between two jonin. The other ninja all grew slightly excited as well, after her preformance at the meeting with the Raikage Hatsue had earned a name for herself both in Konoha and Kumo and Amaris was already one of the villages elite jonin who'd done the same.

Hatsue was now referred to in Kumo as the metal wire queen. Amaris who along with four other shinobi went toe to toe with the Raikage six months ago, was known as a kunochi one didn't want to do battle with one on one.

Their match would definitely serve as an interesting battle, that much was for certain.

Shisui and Itachi activated their sharingan in preparation not wanting to miss anything that happened in the battle between the jonin and the anbu.

Few people present were aware of the fact that Amaris could use the byakugan which would also serve to make the match a more interesting one if she decided to use it, anbu vs jonin, Sharingan vs Byakugan, subtle traps and strategy vs physical strength and speed.

Nubutaka used the magnet style to lift a kunai off the ground and toss it into the air and nearly everyone held their breath as the kunochi both stood on opposite sides of the field smiling at each other.

Inoha Imari and Anko both couldn't believe they were finally getting the chance to see their sensei/Nee chan fight seriously even if it was just a spare.

The kunai struck the ground and Amaris's hand was right behind it.

"Summoning justu!" She yelled as a small circle spread out from where she'd slammed the ground.

The small cloud of smoke cleared and Amaris stood grinning widley with her sword. Hatsue chuckled having been expecting something else like a creature of some sort.

"You use the summoning justu to call on your sword? I didn't know that was possible."

"Well usually it isn't possible to summon inanimate objects if they aren't inside a scroll of some kind but it's possible if you've placed a seal on them." She replied withdrawing her blade with her left hand and holding the scabard in her right.

Hatsue nodded pulling some ninja wire from inside her kimmono and wrapping most of it around both her wrist letting a few wires hang free. She stood looking as if she was waiting or giving Amaris the initiative and the silver haired kunochi didn't hesitate to rush forward quickly closing the distance between them.

She brought her scabard forward in a broad horizontal stroke and Hatsue ducked and spun, Amaris leapt backwards seeing a tangle of ninja wire shimmering as the Uchiha'd spun. Hatsue rotated again and a long tangle of wire follow Amaris, she ducked underneath and began running towards the Uchiha but Hatsue quickly swung her hand forward in an upward motion and a number of wires on her other hand sprang forward running across the ground surprising nearly everyone as they tore through it's rocky surface in a vertical barrage.

Amaris leapt to the side and pulled out three kunai throwing them as a distraction, Hatsue didn't even move or flinch as the kunai rebonded off some invisible force everyone knew to be her ninja wire. Amaris had already began charging towards her but before she'd gotten close a wire sprang from the ground and wrapped around her leg tripping her.

Hatsue raised her hand and more wires leapt from her fingers rushing towards Amaris, moving as if they had a mind of their own. The Monogahi kunochi quickly used the lightning style flash teleportation and was instantly behind Hatsue.

Before she could even act a number of wires tore from the kunochi's sleeve making Amaris back dash and teleport again as the wires which had begun chasing her crashed into the ground where she'd been standing a moment ago.

She reappeared in front of Hatsue a short distance away. The metal wire queen still had the same excited smile on her face as when they started and Amaris felt herself grow excited knowing she could take the woman seriously, or rather she had to if she wanted to win.

Amaris smirked and threw her scabard a long ways across the field using the wind to guide it to Kakashi who caught it easily.

She switched her sword to her right hand and puled out three kunai before activating her storm cloak slipping into a battle stance.

Hatsue grinned and activated her sharingan before creating a shadow clone which spun once leaving a tangle on ninja wire on the ground in a circle around them both.

 _"So Amaris is deciding to get serious."_ Kakashi thought surprised at how easily the Uchiha was repelling her before.

 _"So Hatsue's going about this match in a defensive manner, or is she going to attack while her clone does defense?"_ Nubutaka thought wondering if she wanted to win or just to test herself.

Amaris moved so fast she blurred and Hatsue and her clone reacted quickly, the real Hatsue brung her hand up sending another barrage of wires towards the purple blur approaching them causing her to move to the left. Hatsue's clone spun causing the wires around them to do the same and speed towards Amaris in a wide horizontal arc.

Amaris ducked under the wires and stood right in front of the two Hatsue with her blade raised, the real Hatsue breathed a ball of fire forcing Amaris back, her clone waved it's hand retracting the wires behind the silver haired kunochi. Amaris jumped over the wires and spun in the air throwing her kunai which were speed up greatly thanks to the effect of her storm cloak.

Hatsue took a page from Itachi and Shisui's book throwing her own set of kunai which redirected the one's flying towards her. They soared into the air and Hatsue's clone threw four more kunai which redirected them again causing them to speed towards Amaris.

She stood in the same spot amplifying the power of her malestorm chariot, the kunai bounced harmlessly against the elements that made up her cloak and landed on the ground in front of her.

 _"Time to see what the metal wire Queen's really capable of."_ She thought forming a set of handsigns only Kakashi was familiar with.

"Lightning style: Super zap dragon!" She shouted as a large dragon like construct of lightning shot from her outstretched hand.

Hatsue's smile didn't waver, she swung her arm in a horizontal motion and before it'd even halfed the distance between her and Amaris her wires tore into the dragon seemingly ripping it apart and shocking the onlookers Amaris included.

What was really shocking was how the lightning didn't even travel up her wires as Amaris had thought it would it she attempted to block it.

"How do you keep your wires from conducting my electricity?" She asked needing an answer to what should be impossible. In all of her existence she'd always known metal to be highly conductive, what just happened defied all logic.

"I use my chakra to make the wires vibrate at a frequency so high the electricity is repelled by them." She answered proudly.

The look of confusion worn by the Monogahi woman turned into a grin and she readopted her fighting stance before blurring towards Hatsue.

The Uchiha's clone breathed fire into the wires surrounding them and suddenly the two were standing inside a circular tangle of flaming ninja wires that began to rise from the ground. Hatsue's clone began spinning seemingly doing an elegant dance and fire began shooting out of the wires towards Amaris who easily evaded the wide horizontal waves of flame.

Hatsue just finished the signs to a fire style justu and began spitting fire balls at the kunochi making approaching her all the more difficult. Amaris redoubled her efforts and amped her malestorm chariot to it's max as instead of just blurring she seemingly disappered.

"Fire style: Burning Nova blast!" Hatsue shouted throwing her arms forward and launching a powerful blast of flames forward.

Amaris quickly teleported avoiding the wide blast of fire, she rushed in from behind and attempted to leap through an opening inside of the flaming wires but Hatsue turned around and shot a tangle of wires from her fingers forcing Amaris to teleport.

Hatsue's fire style attack crashed into the woods adjacent to the training field and a number of tree's toppled due to the large explosion, a portion of the forest caught flame and the spectators marveled at the attacks destructive power as Nubutaka summonded one of his invisible clones and instructed them to go find a strong water style user within the compound to put out the flames.

Amaris reappeared a short distance away from Hatsue and turned around as her eyes widened.

 _"That attack was meant for me?"_

She turned back towards the Uchiha and began attempting to formulate a plan. Her defense was sound...too sound. There was no way she was getting through those wires without risking severe burns or being burnt to ash.

She'd have to resort to long ranged attacks which she could do well enough but admittedly she was more of a melee focused shinobi, her long ranged attacks were just for keeping pressure on people.

She began forming a set of hand signs familiar to Neji Nubutaka and Hamura. She added a few more to the mix though causing Neji to wonder if it was the same justu.

"Water style: Grand rush of the gezurs!" For a moment nothing happened but then the ground started to shake.

A number of rushing gezurs of water burst from the earth shooting large amounts of water into the air and she began preforming another set of seals the three also recognized.

"Water style: Water pin missles!" Amaris said finishing her seals.

The water shooting into the air all began collecting into tiny little fast moving droplets of powerful water, both Hatsue and her clone started twirling around each other as the Uchiha brought the wires she'd been using for attack up to reinforce their defense.

Amaris began running towards the two as their wires sliced through the powerful droplets of water blurring across the battlefield and avoiding any wayward water missles. Most were aimed at Hatsue and her clone but this justu had a wide area of effect and much of the ground around Hatsue was starting to show it as every drop created a crack.

She activated the Byakugan she inherited from her mother's side to help her keep an eye on the water droplets. She leapt into the air being more than careful to avoid being hit by her own justu, she brung her sword down in a slicing motion sending a sharp gust of wind towards the metal ball of wires that was constantly spinning around her opponents and her clone to keep them shielded.

She teleported back towards the ground and and launched and attack right behind the first from a different angle, she flashed on the other side of the Uchiha and did the same before forming another set of hand signs.

"Lightning style: Triple zap dragons!" She shouted as three lightning dragons broke free of her malestorm chariot and rushed towards the spinning tangle of ninja wire.

The water missles had just come to a stop and Hatsue and her clone were panting thanks to the speed they'd had to swing their arms to keep up only to see three lightning and wind style attacks headed their way from separate directions.

Hatsue knew her chances of blocking all of the attacks right after blocking thousands of drops of water missles were lower than she'd have liked, unable to formulate any other strategy for blocking the attacks Hatsue was forced to move out of her comfort zone.

She and her clone flickered away forced to leave behind their wires and pulled out a kunai attempting to blocking Amaris's sword which sliced through her kunai forcing her to leap back. Amaris charged her again moving faster than Hatsue could react and she substituted with her clone just as the kunochi placed a blade to her neck.

Amaris seeing the flicker of movement knew what she must've done and brung her sword forward to slice through the clone but a tangle of ninja wire wrapped around her blade locking it in place.

She turned around and saw a kunai with a ninja wire embedded into the side of a tree stretching to wrap around her sword, the clone standing in front of her was holding the other end lightly around her fingers with a triumphant smirk.

Amaris felt heat at her back and did something swordsmen were never supposed to do. She flashed away abandoning her sword, something she hadn't been without or been separated from in battle for years.

Hatsue and her clone grinned at the woman when she reappeared, she'd separated her from her tangle of ninja wire, she separated her from her sword so now they were even. Amaris however was none too pleased, to separate a swordsman or woman from their sword was to essentially separate them from their life line, to assert your dominance.

The younger blade users among the group such as Imari, Shisui, Hamura and even Neji who were virtually new to kenjustu didn't know this, but the older swordmen such as Kakashi Nubutaka and even the experienced shinobi like Jiriya and Tsunade knew this well.

Amaris would be pulling out all the stops now to reassert her dominance, to prove herself worthy of weilding the sword she'd just been stripped of along with her pride.

Hatsue's clones grin disappered as she saw Amaris's eyes grow cold, the atmosphere around her shifted and Hatsue and her clone pulled out the remaining bit of ninja wire they had on them and wrapped it around their wrist.

Amaris did something she'd never done before off pure instinct and will power. She created two copies of herself on either side out of lightning with no seals.

She added water to the the already fully amped malestorm cloak around her body causing it to grow erratic. The ground underneath her feet began to crack under the pressure, and rocks began rising in the air behind her as the winds around her kicked up dust.

 _"Her chakra's even heavier right now than it was when I was fighting her and that other kunochi."_ Tsunade thought surprised at the pressure coming from the woman.

It was nothing compared to her own chakra but it was still pretty impressive.

Hatsue began worrying slightly and she and her clones began to form the handsigns for an advanced firestyle justu created by the Uchiha that most didn't have the chakra control to pull of.

They finished their seals and both the bodies of Hatsue errupted into flames astonishing those present who'd never seen the justu before.

In a flicker of flames she vanished and so did Amaris, they reappeared clashing into each other with their kunai and engaging in a power struggle where Amaris seemed to have the upper hand.

The jonin's clones were applying pressure to Hastue's clone showing a surprising knowledge of the gentle fist that reminded Hiashi of exactly why he'd first sought to intergrate the Monogahi bloodline into the Hyuga clan.

The way her clones were using the taijustu style was amazing to look at, beautiful lethal and effective. It actually gave him an idea concerning Hinata's training.

Hatsue's clone was hard pressed as it moved to avoid the advances of the blindly fast clones of the woman. Amaris's clones were probably moving fast enough to launch six strikes per second, the only thing that was keeping Hatsue safe was the ninja wire wrapped around her wrist that she used with every movement to keep them away.

She twirled forcing them under the wire and she spun going lower this time causing them to leap over the wires, she threw her hand forward causing them both to side step as the bands of metal slammed into the ground behind them and she spun yet again sending some wires low and some wires high causing them to leap back.

They closed the distance in less than a second and Hatsue's clone was backing away again doing her best to keep them away least they regain their weapon and dispell her and go provide the original Amaris with help.

Meanwhile the original Hatsue was barely able to keep up with the original Amaris and she knew if she kept this up she'd be out of chakra soon.

Amaris had withdrawn two kunai from her shinobi pouch and she was slashing at Amaris with wild precision strikes her sharingan was barely fast enough to keep face with.

Hatsue wasn't even fast enough to really react in time so she just continuesly moved the wires on her wrist and fingers around the area in front of her creating something of a barrier that'd repel any and all attacks that might be launched at her from that direction. Moving the wires around so quickly was really taxing though, and she had no way to counter attack the woman, if she tried she'd just provide the kunochi with the opening she was looking for.

She knew her clone couldn't be doing much better either considering she was facing two copies of the woman instead of just one. Amaris let up in her attack for a moment and Hatsue inwardly sighed in relief prepared to flicker away but Amaris beat her to it.

She'd flickered a short distance behind the woman and closed the distance in nearly a half of a second but unfortunately for her it was enough time for Hatsue to flicker forward and launched a sealess fireballs towards her.

Hatsue's clone was feeling a sense of dread and the kunochi assaulting her continued to get closer despite her efforts to keep them away. She knew that if she didn't do something soon, within the next couple of seconds she would be dispelled and not only would Amaris have her sword back but she would also have backup.

Thinking quickly she allowed her defense's to waver for just a second, allowing the kunochi to get closer to her in the next second than they'd been able to do in the last few.

Pushing chakra to her eyes as soon as she was sure to have made eye contact with the both of them she activated a low level genjustu thanks to her low levels of chakra, causing the kunochi to pause for just a second which just so happened to prove to be enough time for her to throw both her arms forward piercing one of them with her ninja wires but the other one was already gone before her wires could dispell that one as well.

The clone was behind her in an instant causing the clone to smirk hoping her original would be able to handle this on her own. She quickly overloaded her flame cloak before Amaris's clone could dispell her and exploded taking that clone with her and sending the sword she had in her hands flying.

Amaris and Hatsue turned from their battle quickly figuring out what the cause of the explosion was and Amaris teleported to her blade grabbing it out of the air and sighing in relief as she realized it hadn't taken any damage.

She grinned feeling much better than she had a second ago. The handle of the sword was pipping hot but she didn't care, she had her pride back, her life once again in her hands, she didn't plan to let it go and she didn't plan to waste it either. She realized she had to end this battle soon, she was used to using her malestorm chariot for moderate amounts of time but lightning clones were new to her and they'd taken a bit if chakra for her to create.

She was running low on chakra but her byakugan and the tired look in Hatsue's eyes let her know she wasn't the only one, but that did little to give her comfort however. Hatsue used the bare minimum of wire to manipulate the wires she fought with, her fire style techniques were the things that exhausted her and Amaris knew if it came down to a battle without the use of chakra the Uchiha would have the advantage.

While she was pretty fast even without her malestorm chariot Hatsue was fast as well and she was mostly a long ranged fighter with a defensive focus and Amaris's only long range focus besides her average kunai skills were her justu.

It'd be pretty hard to even reach Hatsue without the use of her chakra and she was pretty sure the Uchiha woman knew this.

She inwardly shrugged her shoulders and decided it was now or never, all or nothing, win or lose. She raised her blade which had thankfully cooled down but only after burning her hand considerably first. She didn't mind though, her sword had to punish her somehow right?

She moved forward leading with her sword and Hatsue raised a hand holding her fingers out and Amaris was surprised to find her blade stop right in front of the kunochi.

She leapt away surverying the woman and the barely visible wires in the air seeing the wire that'd stopped her blade being connected to a tree and the far end if the field, and another end leading into the ground.

How Hatsue was able to move them so fast into the positions she required Amaris would never know but she let her cloak of storm fade deciding she needed the rest of her chakra to finish this.

Hatsue did the same with her flame cloak smiling and Amaris figured they came to the same conclusion at the same time.

Suddenly her sharingan deactivated and she fell forward, Amaris's eyes widened and she moved to catch her but one of Nubutaka's clones were already there catching her before she could hit the ground.

"It's alright, she just exhausted herself with all those fire style justu." The clone commented before anyone started to worry.

"She should regain consciousness in a few hours after her reserves have had the chance to replenish themselves."

Anko Inoha Imari and Naruto were more relieved than anyone to hear this as they all breathed easy after hearing that.

The clone carried the unconscious Uchiha inside the compond and the other one materialised in front of them before giving a thumbs up and a smile before dispelling.

"I take it having your clones use that invisiblity justu for so long gave you less chakra than you'd have preferred for our spare?" Kakashi said looking at Nubutaka curiously.

"Unfortunately it did, although I'd still be willing to have one with you if you're up to it." Nubutaka replied originally not expecting the fights to last that long.

Kakashi waved a hand dismissively before he began walking to a tired looking Amaris.

"It's alright we can find time for it later."

Kakashi came to a stop in front of Amaris and she smiled at him wondering if he was impressed with her battle. He placed his hand over hers bringing up her sword hand and sliding the blade into the sheath before taking it from her hand to examine the harsh burns on her palm.

"You really did a number on yourself." He remarked looking at her palm with a bit of worry. He didn't like the fact she'd been so willing to hurt herself for a spare even if it had been a matter of pride.

Amaris didn't reply though, she barely even heard him. She was too busy concerning herself with the fact that Kakashi had just taken her sword out of her hand so casually.

Here she was standing in front of the man she felt she might love looking into his eyes as he looked over her wounds. He'd just taken her life and held it in his hand as if it was nothing to him, as if he didn't know the significance of what he just did.

As the son of the famous swordsmen, Konoha's White Fang she was sure he knew what it meant to take a blade men's sword. She took her hand out of his palm and placed both of them on either side of his head, Kakashi looked at her questioningly and she brung her lips forward throwing her arms around his shoulders and wishing he didn't have on that damned mask as their mouths meant.

Kakashi could hold her sword, he could have her life. She didn't care as long as he gave her the same.

The children turned away from what they saw to be a gross display of affection between two adults while the older shinobi smiled understanding it's significance.

They'd planned on congratulating Amaris on the win but apparently she'd already found a way to congratulate herself. Tsunade smiled knowingly figuring it wouldn't have been that long till the two hooked up.

"Why can't that be us Hime?" Jiriya said questioning the blonde and flinching when he heard the crack of knuckles.

"Because I don't date perverts idiot." Tsunade said more tired of the sannins advances than usual.

"I'd hardly call myself a pervert I'm more like a specialized scientist."

"Scientist my a-"

"Language Hime! There are children around, and besides...for you I'd give it all up, your wish would be my only desire." Jiriya said smiling at the woman as he crossed his arms.

Tsunade turned away from the man hating the fact that he was capable of causing her cheeks to warm these days and hoping he wouldn't see them.

He seemed not to notice though as he looked towards Naruto who was talking with the others.

"I know right! Hatsue Nee is so cool!" Inoha said agreeing with Shisui and Hamura who were practically gushing over her use of fire style.

"I don't know, Nee chans wires and her flames we're cool and all but I think Amaris looked cooler. I wish we would've gotten to see more of her kenjustu though." Imari said looking just as excited as the others.

"I agree with Imari on that one! She looked like she'd be pretty good with her sword but it's too bad Hatsue sama isn't a kenjustu user too. Did you guys see how fast she was going though!?" Shisui said nearly shouting the last part.

"I know right it was awesome! I wonder if she can teach that move to me!?" Naruto said completely intending to find out.

 _"So that's what a jonin other than Nubutaka and Shikono sensei fights like."_ Itachi thought realizing he and his comrades had a lot of catching up to do.

If his sensei was really on the same level as those two than in their spares he'd been holding back on them by leagues. He said that they were all already on the level of a chunin but it seemed to him now jonin wasn't just a step above the rank before it, it was something else entirely.

Izumi was as surprised as the others, she didn't know that Hatsue was that strong. The women had become something of a role model for the young Uchiha, she was the first half Uchiha within the history of the clan to have ever earned it's respect.

She was sure with her help she could grow up and do just the same as she had, then maybe other members of their clan wouldn't scowl or always look at her funny like they did, especially whenever she was seen walking with Itachi.

Nubutaka's clone came out of the compound after instructing a couple of servents to look after Hatsue. It looked at the children who were very close to the woman and smiled before shooting them a thumbs up and dispelling.

Nubutaka grinned and looked to Amaris and Kakashi who were walking towards the compound.

"So you're about to go get your sharingan sealed?"

"Yup, Amaris is pretty exhausted too so I was gonna stay here with her while she rest if that's okay with you." Kakashi said unsure of how the man would feel about that.

Nubutaka grinned before patting him on the shoulder.

"Hey man, whatever you wanna do it's cool by me as long as it's cool with Amaris." He said before moving closer so he could whisper to the two.

"Just be sure not to make too much nose if you guys start having too much fun." He said backing back up to shoot the two a grin.

"Nice spare by the way Amaris I honestly thought Hatsue would be able to surprise you with her skill and catch you off guard but you stayed alert, good job."

Amaris who was blushing and leaning on the shoulder of a blushing Kakashi didn't know what to say for a moment so she settled for the only thing that came to mind.

"Shut up baka! You'd think you're a fan of the make of tactics series with that mind of yours!"

Jiriya turned around from his conversation with the Hiashi Hiaku Tsunade and Hizashi looking at the various groups talking among one another.

 _"Did someone say make out tactics?"_

Nubutaka was laughing at the woman's embarrassment before reaching his hand into the air. Amaris smirked and gave him a high five repeating an action they used to do to congratulate each other for winning spar's back in Darsula.

"Catch you later Nubutaka, maybe we can get that spare the next time I get the day off." Kakashi said bumping fist with the man.

"You know it, enjoy your stay at the compound." Nubutaka replied always wishing others to feel welcome in his home.

Kakashi nodded and him and Amaris proceeded on their way.

"Tell Hatsue chan that was a good battle, I hope we can do it again sometime!" Amaris said turning around to yell at her clan head.

"Gotcha, I'm sure she'd like that!" Nubutaka shouted back with a grin.

Nubutaka then turned towards the gathered groups, the adults and the kids, Neji Hinata and Itachi just stood to the side by themselves not really interacting with either. Of course Izumi stood beside Itachi and Nubutaka approached them first figuring he might as well address the others afterwards.

"Those stuffed animals of yours are inside the compound, I told the servents to put them somewhere safe so just ask any of them where they are and I'm sure they could tell you."

The two nodded before walking towards the compound intent on retrieving them and taking them home since the Uchiha compond was just a short distance away and they'd soon be heading back towards the festival.

Izumi reached into her ninja pouch and pulled out something she placed in her hair, Itachi looked towards her and noticed it was a hair clip of a lady bug.

"So that's the one item you took from inside the bag of prizes you sold the shop keeper?"

"Mhm hm." She nodded giving him comformation.

Itachi had to admit it did suit her for some reason although he didn't really know why.

Probably because lady bugs were somewhat calming and gentle, Izumi was all those things and more he could say she had in common with the lady bug but he couldn't figure it out so he just choose to ignore it.

Shisui noticed Itachi leaving with Izumi and turned towards him. "Hey...Itachi's trying to ditch us again!"

Hamura followed Shisui's gaze and just laughed. "Hey bro don't get jealous, you'll find a girlfriend of your own someday." The Monogahi said teasing his friend.

Shisui opened his mouth to reply but stopped when he heard Anko laughing knowing she'd have something to say.

"Yeah but too bad you won't captain hook, girls don't really like old men that much." She said grinning when he turned around to shoot her a heated glare.

The two were going back and forth soon and Shisui was laughing at both of them as Naruto explained to Imari and Inoha how he'd gotten so good at the transformation justu.

"But Naruto that can't be it, you created a tone of shadow clones and had them try to transform into stuff? How would you get the skills once they learned them?" Inoha asked wondering if he'd just watched them and had them all explain how they'd done it afterwards.

"When shadow clones disappered what they knows goes to you so I use them to help me with my training since I can create so many." The blonde said smiling proudly.

"Whaaa!?!?" Both twins said at the same time never knowing.

"Teach us." The said hoping he would agree as they wanted to learn the justu now instead of waiting for their next training session with Hatsue.

"I'll teach you guys if you both agree to teach me one technique or justu that I can use." Naruto said making that his new policy for teaching things he'd learned.

"Deal!" They both said immediatly causing the blondes smile to turn into a foxy grin.

Oh he was gonna know so many justu and techniques, by the time he entered the academy he'd probably be stronger than his teachers.

He heard a deep voice somewhere in the back of his head rumbling with laughter at that thought but figured he was just imagining things and disregarded it.

After speaking with Neji and Hinata for a short while Nubutaka turned to address everyone.

"Okay guys, it's been a pleasure having you all here today and watching most of you fight but I'm about to go sit with Tsue Chan till she wakes up. I figure you guys will be going back to the festival so I hope you all enjoy yourselves and I'll be seeing you later." Nubutaka said waving to the groups who all waved back towards him and said their farewells.

"So who wants to go grab something to eat?" Jiriya said taking lead looking at the young shinobi he knew would likely be hungry now after their battle's.

Unsurprisingly everyone raised their hands but much to his surprise most of them couldn't agree on what to eat. The funny thing though was that most of the ramen group was silent besides Naruto who was the loudest out of the whole bunch.

He sighed as the other adults laughed at his dismay. How did Nubutaka deal with this on a near weekly basis?

 **I** **would've uploaded this chapter days ago but I was very low on data and I had to budget, sorry about that.**

 **Itachi awakened his Mangekeyo when he thought Izumi was dead but he doesn't know it yet, Izumi thinks she might have seen it but just chalked it up to battle exhaustion. We won't be seeing him actually use it for years though.**

 **I really hope you guys are enjoying the story!**

 **Shy:** Soo, what'd you guys think?

 **Kasuf:** We want more blood!

 **Kabir:** What?

 **Kasuf:** I'm just bs'in, I really liked the last few fighting scences. I like how everyone seems to be getting closer to everyone over time.

 **Kabir:** Oh look who's ass kissing now!

 **Kasuf:** Hey man, I can't help it if Shy's making tacos tonight. You ass kiss just because you wanna be the favorite brother, I ass kiss just to get my way.

 **Shy:** Wait...so you don't really like this chapter that much?

 **Kasuf:** No! I didn't say that, I like it and I meant what I said but you know your my favorite sister ever right?

 **Kabir:** You know she's still not gonna give you more taco meat than I get though right?

 **Kasuf:** Shut up Kabir, mind your own business!

 **Shy:** Can we keep on focus guys? What'd you think Kabir?

 **Kabir:** Pretty much the same thing Kasuf does, I'm really interested to see how you'll develop Naruto and how the others are going to fit in the story. When do we get to see Neji use a sword?

 **Shy:** All in due time brother, all in due time.

 **Kabir:** Yea but I wanna see it now.

 **Shy:** Well you're gonna have to wait dummy, I'm not rushing the story.

 **Kasuf:** *laughs at Kabir*

 **Kabir:** SHUT UP KASUF!!!


	18. Chapter 14 Part 3

**PLEASE READ:** _The final installment of Kakashi's time in the land of rain is finished. I won't say it's important because it isn't honestly but I'd still read it. It's chapter 13 part_ 3

 **Sasuke** **and the others ages will be addressed in the next chapter. Sorry if the story isn't serious enough at times, the main focus so far has basically been a group of young shinobi and shinobi hopefuls. Things will grow more serious as the story moves forward, TRUST ME.** **I thought this chapter would be shorter than usual but I'm already at 8K words and I just started lol**

 **21K words**

 _Problems and problem solvers_

 **Main Street-Konoha**

"So what techniques are you guys gonna teach me?" Naruto asked looking at Shisui and Hamura with excited eyes and a grin.

Shisui replied immediately. "That's pretty obvious bro, the flicker." The Uchiha said with a grin.

"Sweeet!" The blonde cheered before looking at Hamura expectantly.

"Well I've been thinking about it and I was gonna teach you how to create rock bunshin but honestly shadow clones have more they can be used for. Since you already know a fire style justu I'll teach you an earth style technique, but to learn this one you'll need another to make it useful."

Naruto's grin widened and Hamura and Shisui wondered just how the kid could smile so much.

"What justus are you gonna teach me?" He asked leaning closer causing Hamura to grin at his enthusiasm.

"First is the earth style hiding like a mole justu, then I'll teach you the head hunter technique so you can find your opponents even while you're underground and drag them into the earth."

"That sounds pretty useful, but I thought you were gonna teach me something a bit flashier? My shadow clones are usually all the distraction I need."

Hamura placed a hand to his chin and began thinking about it.

"How's about wind style vacuum bullets?" He replied after a short moment thinking Naruto would like that.

"What's that?" Naruto replied looking curious.

"It-"

"Hold on a sec, we don't even know your chakra nature yet." Shisui commented wondering if Naruto would even be able to learn a wind style technique.

The blonde just shrugged looking like chakra nature was the last thing he was worried about.

"If the third Hokage learned every chakra nature who says I can't? I am gonna be the greatest Hokage ever after all." He remarked, his grin just as confident as always.

Shisui and Hamura both grinned at his confidence and Shisui ruffled his hair and encouraged that train of thought.

Imari and Inoha over heard their conversation and Imari quickly fell back not wanting to be outdone by the two.

"Well I can teach you how to fight with swords Naruto?" She asked wondering if the blonde would have any interest in learning kenjustu.

"Naah...I'll stick to using justu and my fist for now, sword fighting looks like it takes too much practice."

"Unless you're just a natural like the uchiha flash here." Hamura said elbowing his teammate playfully in the ribs causing Shisui to frown at the name.

"No one asked you captain hook. Anyways Naruto, since Hamura originally offered to teach you two justu how's about I teach you two since he'll just be teaching you one now?"

"Hey no fair! I haven't even decided on what I'm teaching him yet and you two are already trying to out do me!" Imari yelled causing Shisui and to smirk.

"Yea because we're awesome." Hamura remarked adding another wind style justu to the list as not to be out done by Shisui.

The three began arguing over who would get to teach Naruto what while Inoha laughed from in front of them and Neji just sighed.

"Does everything have to be a competition between those three?" The Hyuga said merly speaking aloud and asking no one in particular.

"Just be glad Anko Nee chan isn't back there. I'm pretty sure she'd be doing the same thing even though she never promise to teach Naruto anything." The white haired girl replied knowing his question hadn't really been for her.

"Didn't you promise to teach him something as well in return for him showing you how to use shadow clones?" Neji asked looking at Inoha curiously and hoping she wouldn't add to the chorus of argumentative voices behind him.

"I did but I see no reason to argue with anyone about it. My elemental affinities are earth and fire. Since Shisui and Hamura have fire style covered I'll just teach him an earth style technique no one uses I'm sure he could make use of." She answered looking ahead of them at Anko and wondering what she was talking with Hinata about.

"And what earth style technique would that be?" Neji said sounding curious.

"One I'd rather not tell you about seeing as you have an earth style affinity too. Can't have you surpassing me now can we?" Inoha commented smiling at Neji in a teasing manner.

The Hyuga narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth to reply but Inoha stuck her tongue out at him and rushed to catch up with Hinata and Anko.

Neji almost paused and stopped walking before he smirked finding his self proclaimed rivals antics to be amusing for some reason. _(I can't wait for Lee to meet these two. I'd love to write a fighting scene with him, and his interaction with the group would probably be funny)_

"So you only know taijustu?" Anko asked the girl she walked beside.

Hinata nodded shyly wondering why this girl who seemed to be leagues above her was giving her the time of day.

"Well considering you'll be training with Nubutaka and the others soon that'll change quickly. You seem really unsure of yourself in combat though. Wanna spare with me sometimes? I'm sure I could help you with that." Anko said looking at the girl hopefully.

"W-Why would you want to help me?" Hinata said shocked at the older girls generious offer.

"Because Hamura and Shisui really like sparing with Naruto and teaching him new techniques. Since both of you are training with Nubutaka you'll be fighting each other frequently and I think you could definitely benefit from some training on the side. Besides, if I can help you gain the confidence you'll need to beat Naruto it'll be like I'm beating Shisui and Hamura." Anko said developing a wicked grin that caused Hinata to grow a bit more nervous.

"U-Uhm-"

"Goood! That's the spirit! I'll have you ship shape in no time! Whenever both of us have free to we'll train together okay?"

"O-Okay!" Hinata answered back quickly seeing she didn't have a choice.

"Hey what are you two talking about?" Inoha said coming up behind the two.

"Oh nothing, taijustu, food, boys. You know the usual." Anko said avoiding telling the truth.

Inoha tilted her head slightly never knowing her sister to really talk about boys least of all with someone as shy as Hinata. She smiled and decided to ignore the obvious lie and proceeded to talk with Hinata to learn more of the girl.

Hiashi Hizashi Jiriya Tsunade and Hiaku all just spoke of the village and how lately things seemed to be taking a different route than anyone would've thought.

 **Underground NEE facility**

Danzo looked up from his shinobi reports feeling a presence outside of his office and practically prayed it wasn't Orochimaru coming to pester him as he seemed so fond of doing.

The door opened and instead another familiar face greeted him. The face of a grey haired man with brown skin and strange markings on his arms. He wore a grey shirt that had the sleeves ripped off with mess armor underneath, black shinobi pants and boots rather than the standard sandals, and he had two larger than average daggers at his side. In his mouth was a tooth pick and his grey eyes practically screamed of greed and mischief but also confidence and experience.

"Well these are some nice digs you got here. Nice dark room, nice well hidden underground facility with long confusing corridors." He paused for a moment shooting Danzo a look of confusion.

"Are you really doing paperwork in these dim ass candle lights? Geeze-they don't call you the ninja of darkness just for kicks do they?"

"I believe you came here to talk business rather than ask unnecessary questions or admire the scenery." Danzo said in a voice that made his aversion to casual conversation clear.

"Oh yea business, right...I don't know though. I usually go off of my clients facial expressions to know if I'm doing a good job or not. I can hardly even see you in these dim ass candle lights with all these shadows around the room."

"Well I can see you just fine." Danzo said wondering why shinobi couldn't just act like shinobi.

His voice carried over to the man and he knew the threatening undertone in his voice wouldn't be missed on him.

The man smirked before clearing his throat and standing up straight in a mock business pose.

"Well I've spent the last few months acting as Jugo's body guard. I gotta say that guys frikken loaded, man's got bars on damn near ever side of Konoha, and the woman he hires-"

"Get to the point Takashi, I'm tired of you beating around the bush. I hired you for one thing, not your useless observations." Danzo said keeping the small bit of anger he was feeling out of his voice.

Perhaps this man was worse than Orochimaru. They both seemed to get a kick out of pissing him off but at least Orochimaru usually wasn't one to beat around the bush.

"Well during my time as his body guard I accompanied him on a lot of dare I say questionable business endeavors. The man runs a very harsh prostitution ring, more than a few illegal gambling house's and he runs a very lucrative extortion racket in multiple slums of Konoha but predominantly the south western slum which he practically owns.

 _"The south western slums sounds about right, that's supposedly where the Monogahi boy saved her from Jugo and hid men. It also near the alley where the Uchiha girl slaughtered the thugs attempting to capture and take the twins."_ Danzo thought recalling all that he'd been told by Hatsue about the girl.

"I take it you're still willing to cooperate with the leaf villages police force in conducting a successful raids that'd lead to the discovery of evidence we could use to incarcerate the man?" Danzo questioned.

The man placed a hand under his chin and looked thoughtful as he pretended to consider his options.

"You know Alfons is a pig of a man and a coward but I must say he pays better than I expected. Then there's that extortion racket he runs, I'm sure within a couple more months I'll be able to get in on the action. That's a lot of money to line my pockets with if I keep working for the guy."

Danzo frown seeing the man was basically attempting to extort more money out of him than he was already receiving for his services.

"Fine then, name your price and you shall receive your Ryo as long as it's nothing too outlandish."

"How's one million Ryo sound?" The man asked not bothering to hide the grin on his voice.

"Done." Danzo said knowing that to be nothing compared to NEE's annual opperation budget.

He could pay that himself out of the Shimura estate and it wouldn't even be a dent in his clans fortune.

The man's grin grew large enough to cause Danzo's eye to narrow before he spoke.

"You are to speak with Fugaku Uchiha at the leaf villages police station in three days time and tell him all that you know. You will ensure his raids provide him more than enough evidence to convict Jugo. Should you fail you won't be at all be fond of the consequences." Danzo warned.

The man raised a hand and waved it dismissively before developing a smirk and readopting his former carefree disposition.

"So what's the matter with you though, how come you're all couped up inside instead of getting some sunlight and enjoying the festival?"

"How I choose to spend my days is of no concern to you. As a retired shinobi currently on my pay role you'd be wise of you to only speak to me on matters of business."

The man continued to smirk at Danzo letting his tooth pick hang between his teeth before pulling it from his mouth and replacing it with a cigarette.

"Or what, I don't suppose you'll make me disapper will you?" The man said lighting his cigarette.

Danzo began wondering why shinobi of lower status with high ranking always felt as if they could talk to him in anyway they pleased. Jonin or not, one should always know their place when speaking to their betters.

He lifted a hand and made a gesture and the man turned his head upon feeling five NEE opperatives silently appear out of the shadows at his back.

A kunai flew from in front of him cutting the berry off of his cigarette and effectively putting it out before he'd even gotten the chance to take a second puff.

He turned back to Danzo who seemingly hadn't even moved an inch and just continued to smirk.

"I gotta say, it really just amazed me how your kunai didn't whistle in the wind when you threw it. Is that just a testiment to your skill or something every Shimura could do with their wind style abilities?"

Danzo resisted the urge to throw another kunai at the man. The people who were of moderate value or held an importance to the village were always those who ended up testing him. In other words it was usually just powerful ninja who tried him something he found he was quickly growing tired of.

"You should know I don't allow smoking in here." Danzo commented ignoring his question and wondering if he'd have need of another kunai.

He had plenty of them on hand but he hardly liked using weapons without deadly intent. It was like using justu for recreational purposes, or going out to eat because you were bored. A total waste of time and resources.

"You know if you lightened up a bit you'd live longer." The man said as if he was actually informing Danzo of something.

The Shimura clan head simply continued to appraise him coldly with his one eye.

People like this who couldn't get straight down to business and stick to it were one of the many reasons he'd established the NEE program. Shinobi were meant to be sharp, effective, emotionless, and straight to the point. Shinobi were weapons and tools, or at least they were meant to be. A hammer was a blunt object but it was effective and straight to the point that's what made it a useful tool. A kunai was sharp, emotionless, and just as effective as any other weapon or tool.

The man before him was sharp and maybe even effective, however he allowed his own desire for wealth hinder his potiental therefore limiting his use. He was much too carefree to be as thorough as he could be and therefore a hindrance to himself and those who used him, such as Danzo at the moment.

He didn't resent the man for his own short comings, Danzo was never a man of short sightedness. It'd be like blaming a kunai for losing it's edge having not been cared for. At the end of the day it was the villages duty to ensure it's shinobi kept a finely tuned edge.

Then again the man was technically retired, but what use did a weapon or tool that wasn't in service hold? Very little in the eyes of the ninja of shadow. Resourceful as he was though, he'd make use of anything that'd suite his needs. Sharp, dull, blunt, emotionless or emotional, everything had a use if you could find one.

Danzo Shimura was definitely a man who could find use in useless things. Such as the helpless urchin children inside the Konoha slums his organization groomed into some of the villages greatest assets.

One thing he had no use for though was pointless conversation so he saw no need to continue trading banter with the man in front of him. There was just one thing he needed to be corrected on though before he left.

"Shinobi don't survive to live as long as I have by being light hearted. A shinobi who lives long is one of skill and countenance. There is no room for enjoyment in the life of a ninja unless one takes pleasure in pain and death. The reason you are retired and a shinobi such as myself who is of an older age and more experience still works from the shadows belays all the difference between our varied points of view and where they lead us in life."

"I've had my NEE agents watch you as you watched Jugo. Your life is a shadow of what it likely once was...you live between your cups and the only time you're truly alive is when someone places money or a drink in your hands. You aren't living...just scraping by to survive, waiting till the day you die." Danzo said not sparing the man his full assessment of him and the pathetic existence he called a life.

"I suppose a light heart is the consequence of your early metaphorical death. A weapon to dull or too soft to get the job done correctly can't even be bothered to consider itself as such. A tool that has no purpose has no way or satisfaction. There can be no life for such a thing, no true form of existence." Danzo said pausing for a moment wondering if he should continue before deciding against it.

"Are we done here?" He asked after a moment when the man remained silent.

The man's eyes narrowed as he nodded slowly likely not having expected Danzo to lay it on so thick. He turned and let the NEE opperative who escorted him in replace his blindfold and begin leading him back out.

Danzo looked down without a second thought and went back to his opperational reports on both Konoha's anbu and his own NEE branch.

He wasn't a man of wistful thinking but he couldn't help but wonder how much easier his life would be if he could shut the snake up in such a way.

 **Monogahi compound**

"But I'll still be able to use it though right?" Kakashi asked the clans seal master, a man of average hieght and greater muscle mass then you'd expect from someone who spent most of their time going through scrolls.

"Yup, you'll only need to send a bit of chakra into the seal and it'll activate the sharingan for you. However whenever you get too low on chakra the seal will pull from your reserves to deactivate the eye as a regular sharingan would deactivate when the user got too low on chakra." The man explained and Kakashi nodded finding that perfectly acceptable.

"Whenever you want to deactivate the sharingan just reactive the seal and it'll take care of it."

"So it's basically like an on and off switch for the eye?" Kakashi asked following along.

"Exactly." The man said showing Kakashi a rough draft of the seals he'd be using he'd already drawn out on a paper.

Amaris stood on the other side of the library talking with the librarian who Kakashi thought appeared to be quite young for her age as did the man in front of him.

The librarian had vibrant red hair that she kept folded into a neat bun held in place by two kabuki sticks at the top of her head. She had the face of a woman in her late forties but Amaris had told him both she and her husband were approaching their late seventies. Her husband like her looked rather young ressembling a man in his late forties. His hair was a slightly darker shade of burgundy that had a few small streaks of grey inside it.

They both had ember colored eyes which caused Kakashi to wonder if the two were related somehow, cousins who married perhaps? They both had fair skin and a welcoming aura about them Kakashi found pleasant. They both wore peach colored robs with red trimming and patterns that made them look both elegant and stylish.

"So are you ready to begin the process?" The man asked after explaining the details of the seal and how it'd work.

Kakashi nodded and stood following the man into a room close to the library. He pulled out a quil and pricked his finger with the tip, allowing a drop of his blood to fall into a fresh ink well he began to stire. He took the quil and began drawing the seals around Kakashi's eye as he sat perfectly still.

Before he'd finished Kakashi had to pull down his mask so that the man had more space to work with. By the time he finished Kakashi sat with nearly half his face covered in seals and markings that extended to his lower shoulder.

The man's wife, Sayako Kakashi believed, came inside of the room and chuckled slightly upon seeing Kakashi.

"You're quite the handsome shinobi, no wonder Amaris is so enamored with you."

Kakashi simply rubbed the back of his head sheepishly not really knowing how to reply and the seal master, Hashio as he'd introduced himself chuckled at his expense labeling the ink well he'd used and placing it on a shelf Kakashi thought might have been specific.

"Just make sure you never make her mad enough to attack you. Hell hath no fury like a Monogahi women scorned."

Sayako raised an eyebrow and observed her husband curiously.

"What's that supposed to mean dear?" She asked in a voice that made Kakashi slightly nervous for the man.

"N-Nothing sweetheart." Hashio said visibly sweating at the look he was receiving.

"You aren't still thinking about-"

"No dear never! I made my decision years ago, I'd never regret choosing you!" The man said holding his hands up as if asking she be merciful.

"Good...I'd hate to have to kill you after we've spent so long together."

Kakashi sweat dropped and became nervous for his own sake. Amaris wouldn't become like that would she?

"So how do you want to go about this?" She asked her husband reffering to the sealing.

"It's hardly that complicated of a seal, I should be able to manage on my own."

She nodded and turned to exit the room and just as she left Kakashi saw something that'd startled him and caused his eyes to go wide.

On the back of her robe was the same red spiral seen on all standard issue Konoha flak jackets, the Uzumaki clan symbol. Hashio noticed his reaction and figured he wasn't expecting to see an Uzumaki in the Monogahi compound or probably anywhere for that matter.

"Weren't expecting an Uzumaki huh?" The man asked bringing Kakashi back to reality.

"No...I thought most of them had been wiped out in the fall of Uzushio and there were only a few survivors." Kakashi said figuring that explained the red hair, but wait a moment...

"Unfortunately most of us were but more of our number survived than people think."

 _"Us...so his red hair makes sense too. These people are from Naruto's clan, I doubt it but they could even be related to Kushina. Too bad I can't tell anyone who Naruto's parents are, asking if he knew Kushina would just raise questions."_

"So how did two Uzumaki end up in Darsula village and no offense if this question may seem personal but are you your wife related somehow?" Kakashi asked hoping to get an answer for the last question because it'd been bugging him for a while now.

"The Uzumaki have always been a part of Darsula. The Monogahi were our greatest allies next to our other sister clan the Senju, and yes she's my third cousin."

Kakashi nodded remembering Yoshikawa had said the Uzumaki were the Monogahi's greatest allies.

"So even as of now there are Uzumaki in Darsula?" Kakashi asked wondering if the clan the world believed to be pretty much gone were just currently in hiding like the Monogahi.

"Yup, although not many. Most of Darsula's Uzumaki have already mixed their bloodline with someone of Monogahi descent like my family who were Uzumaki originally."

"If you possess Monogahi blood regardless of what else you are you'd might as well consider yourself a Monogahi because any other bloodlines will just be assimilated. My father was Uzumaki while my mother a pureblood, so I'm considered Monogahi even though my Uzumaki genetics are strong. My wife's father was my uncle and her mother was also a pureblooded Uzumaki so Sayako is one hundred percent Uzumaki which is why she bears the clans symbol even though she claims the Monogahi clan in name."

"During the fall of Uzushio the Monogahi rushed to the aid of our brothers and sisters but unfortunately we were too late. The village had already fallen and most of it's inhabitants were slaughtered or scattered to the wind. Over the years we've had tracker and sensory nin stumble across an Uzumaki here and there but never anymore than two in one place and hardly any at all."

"The Uzumaki who remain in Darsula village now only take lovers among one another or civilians in an attempt to keep their bloodline pure as they reestablish their clan from the few members they have left to work with."

"Woah." Kakashi remarked after a moment.

 _"So then Naruto isn't the only known survivor of the clan then, there's a number of them in Darsula rebuilding as we speak."_ Kakashi thought somewhat amazed by the clans resilience.

"So why didn't we see any when we went to your village years ago?" Kakashi asked wondering if they'd been hiding their existence while they were there.

"Your Hokage saw them and it surprised him greatly to hear all that I just told you. Of course he agreed to keep their existence a secret as he did with the existence of Darsula, and I doubt they were hiding. It's just likely few people out of your group noticed them considering people in Darsula come in all shapes, sizes and hair color. Everyone dressed up for the celebration as well so there were no red whirlpools to speak of."

Kakashi placed a hand under his chin careful not to smudge the seals on the other side.

"But if the Uzumaki aren't actually on the verge of extinction and the Monogahi are seeking a comfortable place in the world why not move to Uzushio? With the strong tides and the whirlpools that surround the island you'd have more than enough time to rebuild Uzushio village bigger and better than ever."

Hashio shook his head no as if there was no way that'd work.

"Ever since the invasion Uzushio isn't as hard to get to as it once was. The Uzumaki's seal masters created those whirlpools as a way to keep invaders away. On the night Uzushio fell someone inside the village betrayed their clan for reasons no one knows. Destroying the seals and allowing the enemy invasion force to invade the island."

"The Monogahi have no garunteee such a thing wouldn't happen again. If a village with one clan claiming to be the Uzumaki and another claiming to be the Monogahi suddenly pops out of thin air on whirlpool island I don't doubt some of the greater villages like Kumo Iwa and maybe even Kiri would see it as a threat to the power they hold so dear."

"Even if they didn't believe the clans were what they claimed no one likes competition. Clearly that's why they all hate each other so much besides Konoha and Suna and now Konoha and Kumo. However if they did believe the Uzumaki and Monogahi were behind Uzushio's revival it'd only serve as more motivation to attack the island yet again."

"As of now the Monogahi's only priority concerning the island is thinning it's ever growing population of bandits and rogue nin."

Kakashi nodded seeing the logic in what he was saying. No doubt Iwa would march troops through the land of rain to board ships at the elemental nations eastern coast just so they could slaughter the competition before it even had a far chance.

Kumo would likely jump at the chance to aquire the Monogahi bloodline alongside the Uzumaki bloodline they falled to aquire years ago during the seige of whirlpool.

Kiri like Iwa wasn't fond of competition, especially so close to home. Their navy would be at whirlpools door before the inhabitants of Darsula even had the chance to get comfortable on whirlpool.

"I can understand your reasoning." Kakashi said after thinking about it for a few seconds or so.

"Good." The man said smiling and forming hand seals slowly to build concentration. "Now bite down on that piece of wood next to you and try to sit still, this is going to hurt a bunch." The man warned.

Kakashi did as he was told and the seals began glowing and burning against his skin as they slowly snaked their way upwards towards his eye. He let loose a grunt of pain and grew grateful for the piece of wood, the worst of it was it felt like his eye was on fire but he was no stranger to pain, he'd been trained to resist torture as all anbu were.

The only way to train someone to resist something was to expose them to it and before he'd become anbu captain he'd been exposed to a lot of 'torture resistance training' or just torture for short. It felt like someone was taking a hot poker to his eye but he merly bit into the wood harder and attempted to focus on his breathing while counting the seconds as he'd been taught.

 _"Ibiki would be proud."_ He thought from somewhere inside the back of his head.

 **Somewhere inside Konoha's TID (Torture and interrogation department)**

"You're a pretty hard bastard you know that?" Ibiki said standing over a broken bruised bloody and burnt Iwa nin.

"Fuck you!" The brave man said bringing a smile to Ibiki's face.

"I love it when you idiots make it harder on yourselves. Anyone I get my hands on who has the information I need always talks eventually." The man said wondering how much more his guest could take.

"Bite me you ugly piece of shit!" The man said showing no signs of losing his fire.

Ibiki mentally shrugged before picking up a pair of pliars that sat on the table next to him.

"Ever had your finger nails pulled clean off your fingers? Let me tell you it hurts like a bitch." Ibiki said grabbing the man's chained hand and clamping down on his fingernail with the pliars.

He'd gotten to experience how painful this was first hand inside an Iwa interrogation cell after a mission went wrong. Now ironically enough he was about to inflict the same pain on a ninja from that same village.

A younger Ibiki might have called it poetic justice but he knew there was no justice here, he wasn't a judge nor was he a hero of some sort.

Ibiki was the got damned truth serum that every enemy of Konoha rightfully feared finding themselves in a room with. Did he enjoy his job? No, the man wasn't depraved in any sense of the word as far as he was concerned.

Was he good at what he did? Got damned right he was. Sometimes shinobi would spill the beans to the man as soon as he stepped into the interrogation cell. He'd torture those poor souls anyway to ensure they were telling the truth.

He ripped the man's first finger nail clean off not wasting any time and grabbed his hand keeping it still as he grabbed the nail on the next finger and began pulling on it slowly. The man was screaming in agony which didn't bother Ibiki much, this was what he heard when he slept, when he woke up, when he closed his eyes, and when he was at work.

This was how he knew he was doing a good job, when his guest were either screaming enough to make the walls shake or singing like a canery. He paused for a moment feeling as if someone had just whispered his name.

He looked around the small cell he knew only him and the Iwa nin to be inside before he shrugged and went back to work. Probably just some poor fool he'd tortured years ago recalling the story of how they were unfortunate enough to find themselves locked in a room with Morino Ibiki yet fortunate enough to have survived.

Then again depending on what condition he left them in their survival could've been just as unfortunate as the torture itself.

( **We'll** _see more of **Ibiki** later in the story. He won't be given a main character spot but just expect to see more of him, and_ a few _**torture** **scences**._)

 **Uchiha compound**

Izumi had just placed Kuro in her house and she was currently waiting near the compouds entrance for Itachi to rejoin her so that they could head back towards the festival together. His family's house was further inside the compound, right at the middle actually while Izumi's was just a short walk from the gates.

She leaned against one of the stone walls surrounding the compound and gazed at the sky thoughtfully. The clouds...there were so free. Unhindered by anything or anyone, aside from the constant pull of the wind their own fates were entirely up to them. No one judged a cloud for being a cloud anymore than they judged a river to be a river. No one told a cloud what they could and couldn't do, a freedom Izumi would never know.

As an Uchiha half born or not, her fate had already been predetermined. Even though she felt like she might like the life style it was never what she'd choosen for herself. Her grandfather practically despised her for having a father who wasn't an Uchiha, the rest of the clan either looked at her like she was a waste of space or as if she didn't exist. All of them besides Itachi Shisui and her mother.

Of course there were others among the clan who weren't full blooded Uchiha but it's hardly something they went around bragging about and they'd never drsw attention to themselves by hanging around other half breeds.

The only thing in life she could recall actually choosing for herself was her taijustu style which she'd learned because her grandfather refused to yeach her the destroyer fist. He'd said it would be a waste of time since she was only a half Uchiha and she'd likely never awaken the sharingan.

Little did he know she'd awakened it shortly after the nin tails attack when recalling the death and destruction that she'd seen and coming to terms with the fact she'd never see her father again.

She refused to tell him because he likely wouldn't be proud of her in the slightest. It'd just make him wonder how much more she could've been if she'd been born with the full blood of an Uchiha. They'd likely only cause him to feel more resentment towards both her and her mother so she kept it to herself.

It's not like she was proud of the eyes anyway, she practically hated them. Only after witnessing the deaths of a number of people and feeling a great pain at the lose of her father did they awaken. They were a constant reminder of her fathers death, really any sharingan she looked at seemed to have that effect.

They weren't worth it, all of the pain and death yet the Uchiha seemed to proud to have them. It was things like that that made her glad she was only a half breed, maybe it was were the humanity a majority of the clan seemed to lack came from.

She didn't choose to awaken the sharingan, it was yet another part of her life she had no control over. She didn't resent the eyes it'd be like resenting the sun for rising. She didn't like them though, really she didn't like anyone's sharingan, they were just a reminder of her pain and inability to choose things for herself.

What hurt the most was thst no one seemed to see or feel her pain, and even if they could would they care? Did she even want them to see?

The confusing train of thought caused her to frown, she just really didn't know. She usually tried not to think to deeply about these things, apparently everyone else paid them little mind but she couldn't help it at times.

Itachi stood on a nerby roof observing Izumi as her thoughtfully gaze shifted from the clouds to the ground and she frowned causing him to wonder what it was she was thinking about.

After leaving the stuffed animal on a dresser in his room he leapt towards the rooftops knowing she'd be waiting for him at the gate but as he neared her something in her expression made him pause. He hardly ever seem Izumi's eyes in such a way, usually they were bright and cheery even when she had no reason to be so.

At the moment though they were sad, thoughtful, a little fustrated, and something else Itachi thought might have been lonely. He wondered what could possibly have happened that'd make the usually bright Izumi he'd been with just a few minutes ago look like this.

He wasn't currently looking at his best friend Izumi as he knew her. He was looking at someone who understood things on a deeper level than one usually would at her age. Someone who knew the people around her couldn't understand her or the way she thought. Someone he realized he really didn't know as well as he thought he did.

The lonely figure of someone who wished for things to be different from how they were, but forced herself to keep her doubts about the world hidden away all the same.

Itachi just began to understand Izumi was more like himself than he'd ever known before. The reason the loneliness she'd seen in his eyes had drawn her closer was because she was likely just about as lonely as he was but for different reasons.

He figured it had something to do with her only being half Uchiha. The clan didn't try to hide it's dislike of half bloods. Adults and children alike liked to pretend as if they didn't exist at all but he knew it wasn't so simple. There was something else-something deeper behind Izumi mood right now.

Itachi didn't know what but he knew he really wanted to know.

He leapt from the roof and landed a short distance away, walking towards her at his usual pace. Izumi looked up seemingly startled before her eyes readopted their usual brightness and a smile replaced the frown that just painted her features moments ago. Itachi was surprised at the quick change.

It was obvious to him this wasn't a mask, everything about her facial expression was genuine. The smile, the brightness of her eyes, and even the slight hint of curiosity Itachi could see.

She was wondering why he was looking at her funny he realized. It caused him to wonder if she'd even been aware of the look she just wore before he approached her. Surely his presence alone wasn't enough to bring about such change in the girl was it? If so he wondered how she usually felt when he wasn't around. In those moments did she wear a mask in place of her usual self or did she have something else that could improve her mood.

He stopped in front of her and looked into her eyes as he always did but instead of just looking at her eyes he searched for her true self instead.

All this time he'd thought to have her figured out, but in all actuality she understood him better than he did her, in a way she was still a mystery to him. Izumi held Itachi's gaze and pressed her back harder to the wall wondering why he was looking at her so oddly and why he had yet to say anything.

Itachi always looked her in her eyes as he did with everyone but his eyes weren't just resting on hers, they were seemingly searching her as if attempting to find her soul or at least something close to it.

Even though he was making her feel slightly uncomfortable she was aware that the smile on her face never faded. Itachi was her best friend, her only friend a short while ago before meeting Anko and the others.

She quickly stopped hanging around the boys she used to play with the day after they'd all thrown rocks at Itachi. Her friends at the academy stopped being her friends when they realized she was leagues ahead of them in skill. She'd never had any friends within the Uchiha compound to begin with, half breeds stuck to themselves.

Even if she did once have friends besides Itachi she hadn't choosen any of them anyway. They'd come to her and without any other friends to speak of she'd always gratefully accepted their unspoken offers of friendship but Itachi was different.

She'd choosen him and besides her personal taijustu style which she really had no choice but to create he was the only thing in life she'd ever choosen for herself. She felt free when she was with Itachi, it was like she could fly like the clouds or flow freely like a river.

It helped that he was such a good friend, Izumi knew if anyone understood her it was Itachi. Even if he didn't understand her deeply he still knew her better than anyone else and she was the same with him. They both had a bond that was rare, Izumi knew it and she felt Itachi knew it too. While they couldn't be any different as people they couldn't be anymore similar to one another either.

She always smiled when she was with Itachi because she really couldn't help it. The very thought and realization on that fact caused her smile to grow.

Itachi saw Izumi's eyes soften, drawing him back to reality and making him aware of the fact he'd likely been staring at her for a longer time than what was appropriate.

He uncharacteristically rubbed the back of his head and averted his eyes for a moment before turning back towards a still smiling Izumi.

She could tell he felt awkward about what he was just doing and didn't really know what to say next so she grabbed his wrist and began pulling him through the gates of the compound to save him the trouble.

"We can still catch up with the others if we hurry to the food vendors since I'm sure that's where they went. You don't mind do you Itachi?"

"We could just walk around or dit on a bench somewhere in the park and watch the clouds if you want?" She said turning to look at him as she pulled him along by the wrist.

Itachi smiled at her before replying it really didn't matter what they did which caused Izumi to grin. Originally she had only intrigued him somewhat. He found her presence to be tolerable, but lately the more time he spent with her the more he began to actually like being around her. He'd be content to either of her options as long as she let him indulge his new guilty pleasure of having her near. When Itachi was with Izumi he wasn't always thinking about the future, he could actually allow himself to relax and live in the present like the carefree young genin he was supposed to be.

 **Konoha festival-random street**

"Are you sure about this Shisui?" Hamura asked his teammate unsure of what he was about to do.

"Of course I am. Sensei told us to catch a shinobi off guard so that's what where about to do." Shisui said grinning and pulling a kunai from his pouch.

"But didn't Itachi tell you not to attack random shinobi with kunai? Didn't something bad happen last time?" He asked recalling ItachiItachi's words to Shisui when they'd first meant.

"That guy may or may not have been a little drunk, and I thought he was a jonin but turns out he was a chunin."

"I still don't think throwing kunai at random shinobi who pass by is a good way to catch someone off guard. We could really hurt someone or worse, get ourselves hurt."

Shisui frowned at his friend never knowing Hamura to complain this much about anything besides being a sensory nin.

"Don't crap on my parade man. Shikono sensei said catch someone off guard and that's what we're gonna do. Look there's a Nara right there...perfect." Shisui grinned pulling his arm back and launching the kunai.

Suddenly the Nara was gone and a boy who looked like his son deflected the kunai stopping it from hitting anyone else.

"What the-"

"Behind you."

Shisui and Hamura whirled around and both gulped as they realized they couldn't move and looked down to see a shadow connected to both their feet.

"I hope you two have a good reason as to why you sent a kunai flying towards my head." The man said causing both boys to grow nervous at the man's scary expression.

They told him their story and he looked at them both as if they were some of the biggest idiots he'd ever seen before releasing them from his shadow paralysis.

"You realize attacking a fellow shinobi of the village is an act of treason right? You're both genin, you could be charged as adults for this."

"We're sorry sir! Won't happen again please don't arrest us!" They said in unison bowing their heads causing the man to sigh.

"Dads not gonna arrest you, he'd be making too much work for himself." A boy around Naruto's age who looked even lazier than the typical Nara said standing next to the man they'd attacked.

"Maybe I just will arrest them and have you do all the paperwork Shikamaru, you are smart enough after all."

The boy grew just as nervous as Shisui and Hamura and looked as if he wanted to run.

"You're not being serious are you?" The boy asked sweating a bit at his fathers statement.

The man shrugged before turning back to Hamura and Shisui.

"I think I can look past your little attempt on my life on one condition." The man said raising one finger to emphasize his point.

"Anything!" Shisui said really hoping Fugaku and Itachi would have no reason to hear about this.

"I want you two to take my son along with you on this little mission of yours. His mothers been nagging me that I let him sleep too much during the day and this is the perfect opportunity to get him a little excersize and training."

"Come on dad! I could just go stare at the clouds in a park somewhere and mom would never know!"

"Yea you could, unfortunately for you though I happen to agree with your mother. You're lazy by Nara standards and that's really saying something. Where as other Nara will pass a bit of time reading just walking around or practicing justu you hardly do anything beside sleeping and playing shogi."

"I find that a well rested mind and body makes me better at shogi and I need every advantage I can get if I'm supposed to defeat you one day." Shikamaru said hoping yo play off of his fathers weakness for the game.

"Nice try kiddo but nothings getting you out of this." Shikaku said with finality before turning to Shisui and Hamura.

"My son is a crafty one, he may attempt to escape if he feels the reward out weighs the work. The reward being sleep likely out weighs everything in his mind, keep your eyes on him. Don't let him leave till your mission is a success or till the sun starts going down."

"Awww, come on dad! This is totally unfair!"

"Life isn't far, you'll figure that out someday." Shikaku said flickering away not a second after his last word.

 _"Maaan, this sucks. Jerk probably just wanted more alone time with mom, now I'm stuck with these two."_ Shikamaru thought looking at both boys who looked at him as if unsure of what to make out of him.

"Well...let's get this mission out of the way already." Shikamaru decided figuring he was stuck with them for now.

Shisui and Hamura both grinned before they each put an arm around his shoulders.

"Welcome aboard Shikamaru."

At another part of the festival a cheery blonde sat arguing with a spunky purplette.

"It's ramen!"

"Nooo, its dangos!"

"Dango isn't even a real food it's a snack!"

"Well, so is ramen!"

"No it isn't!"

"Yes it is!"

"No it isn't!"

"Yes it is!"

"We can fight about it if you want!" Naruto shouted standing up and sitting down his chop sticks.

"I was just waiting for you to ask!" Anko said grinning and rolling up her sleeves.

Really she didn't care about which food was better, Naruto just reminded her of Hamura so he was fun to mess with.

"Stop provoking him Nee chan." Inoha said stepping in and placing her arms around Naruto's shoulders. The little guy really took his ramen seriously.

Anko shrugged and sat back down. She was starting to get bored and she swore revenge on both Hamura and Shisui for sneaking away without asking her if she wanted to come with. Hamura would pay the worse because he was the one she usually entertained herself with.

Naruto sat back down and Inoha sat next to him and began to chuckle as he picked his chop sticks back up and began devestating the food on his plate.

"You know Naruto, you shouldn't allow people to easily get inside of your head like that. They'll use it against you in battle if they can."

Naruto looked slightly surprised by what she was saying.

"Enemy ninja will use my love of ramen against me?" He asked somewhat disbelievingly.

Anko and Imari started snickering while Neji resisted the urge to roll his eyes. For such an intellectual kid when it came to combat and other people Naruto's mental facilities could sometimes lack in other departments.

Hinata smiled thinking it was cute and the adults continued talking while Jusino laughed and Lilly sat beside him just as silent as always, the girl could likely give Itachi a run for his money.

"No Naruto-" Inoha said resisting the urge to laugh with the others. "Well then again if they thought it would really get to you I'm sure they'll use that against you too. A ninja should never go into battle with untempered emotion. It'll be the blade your enemy uses to cut your legs out from under you and finish you off."

"Nice way of wording." Neji complimented.

"Thanks!" Inoha grinned.

"So how do I temper my emotions?" Naruto asked wondering what it meant to temper something.

Inoha placed a hand to her chin and looked for a way to explain it that'd make sense.

"The only one who could really know how to temper your own emotion for battle is you Naruto." Neji said answering for her.

"It's basically taking the emotion you feel and channeling it into the energy you use to do battle. If you leave that energy unchecked without either getting ride of it or channeling it in a helpful way it'll only end up blowing up in your face."

"When I'm upset in a spare I use my anger and fustration to help me focus, to improve the speed and strength behind my blows. How do you temper your emotion for a fight Inoha chan?" Neji asked figuring the blonde could use another example.

Inoha smiled again and thought about it for a moment before answering.

"Well I'm hardly ever upset when I fight, what I usually feel is excitement and a desire to win, but I don't focus on either of those things because they'll only distract me. I channel my excitement into every swing-every kick and kunai thrown-every justu and every strategy."

"My desire to win makes everything I do more effective and it ensures I'm more careful concerning not giving my opponent any openings. When I'm upset though I basically do the same thing Neji does, I use my anger to focus on winning rather than just beating my opponent."

Naruto looked puzzled at the last bit of her statement.

"But what's the difference between winning and beating your opponent?"

"That's an easy one." Anko said from her place beside Imari.

"A shinobi who wins is a shinobi who took their opponent down in the quickest and most effective way possible, while a shinobi who beats their opponent is someone who was just lucky enough to win the fight."

"I don't get it." Naruto said unsure what big difference he was missing.

Jusino took that moment to explain it in a manner he knew he'd understand.

"Remember that time we all kept stealing food from that shop with the old guy?" He asked knowing Naruto hadn't likely forgotten.

Naruto nodded and Jusino continued.

"At first he didn't catch on to us because we'd always go in one at a time and steal something while someone else distracted him by buying something. We were basically winning, stealing without getting caught and always coming back for more."

"Then we got greedy and brought half the gang in the store to try the same thing. We all got away but the man caught on to us and we couldn't go back into the store anymore after that day. We'd basically beaten the old man but we really still lost because we didn't do it efficiently like we could have."

Naruto nodded his head following what he was saying and took a second to apply it to shinobi combat.

"So you're saying even if I win if I don't do it a certain way I still lose?" He questioned unsure if he really understood.

"Yup." Inoha answered.

"I'm not exactly sure that I get it, but what does that have to do with tempering emotion and what not anyway?"

Inoha couldn't help chuckling at the blonde.

"You'll understand it one day, it probably takes everyone around our age a while to understand what that means." Anko commented turning to see a woman with long dark hair and onyx eyes talking to Jiriya and the others.

There was a boy with her who looked at them all warily before approaching as if he wasn't really used to interacting with people his age.

"Have any of you seen my brother?" The boy asked looking nervous yet confident in himself at the same time.

"Who's your brother?" Imari asked wondering why he looked familiar.

"Itachi Uchiha. The man with the white hair said you guys are his friends."

"Isn't it rude to just approach a group of people you don't know and start asking questions?" Naruto asked looking at the boy in a manner that suggested no hostility, merly curiousity.

The young Uchiha frowned as the nervousness he was doing his best to hide was all but gone as he looked at Naruto.

"Isn't it rude to attempt to correct people you don't know?" He asked with a voice that did little to mask his annoyance.

"Isn't it rude to just walk up to people you don't know without introducing yourself?" Naruto replied folding his arms and turning around fully.

"Isn't it rude to ask that people introduce themselves without introducing yourself first?" The Uchiha replied unconcerned by Naruto's gesture.

"I guess so, but you're the one who walked up to us. You're supposed to introduce yourself first."

"Well maybe I was going to before you interrupted me dobe."

Naruto grinned and walked over towards the boy till they were inches apart and glaring directly at one another.

"Those are fighting words duck face."

"Hmp, you wouldn't last two seconds with me piss for brains."

"Oh really?"

"Really...try me."

"That sounds like fu-"

"Naruto!" Inoha shouted coming to stand behind him looking displeased.

 _"Oh man, why does she always gotta be the big sister when Hatsue Nee isn't around."_ Naruto thought knowing what that frown meant.

He deflated and spared the boy in front of him a more neutral look this time before holding his hand out.

"I wasn't trying to offend you or anything, honestly I just wanted to see if maybe I'd finally found myself a rival since everyone else in the group has one. My name's Naruto Uzumaki, I hope we can get along."

The boy observed his hand for a few seconds before taking it in his own and giving him a firm shake.

"My name's Sasuke, Sasuke Uchiha." Sasuke said smirking at his grin and tightening his grip.

Naruto's grin widened upon realizing it was a challenge. The two began tightening their grips on each other's hand till they both separated at the same time shaking their now sore hands.

 _"This kids pretty strong and he is Itachi's little bro. Maybe I did just find my rival."_ Naruto thought with a grin.

 _"Man this guys strong, and he's hanging out with a bunch of kids who look older than him and are friends with Itachi. Maybe if I become his rival he'll help me catch up to Nii chan."_ Sasuke thought sparing the boy another smirk.

"So if everyone here has a rival who's my brothers rival?" Sasuke asked curiously wondering who could possibly keep up with Itachi.

Most of the group smirked causing him to wonder why before the boy in front of him answered for them.

"Everyone." The blonde said with another grin.

Sasuke looked at him questioningly wondering if he'd heard him right.

"Did you say everyone?" He asked needing confirmation.

"Yup." Naruto said nodding his head.

"Everyone else in the group formed rivalries because of what their good at. Inoha and Neji are rivals in taijustu, Shisui and Imari are rivals in kenjustu, Izumi and Anko are just rivals period, and Itachi is pretty much everyone's rival but nobody's at the same time."

"He's pretty good when it comes to all methods of shinobi combat especially genjustu, and because of that he's a pretty hard opponent to take down. Basically everyone tries their hardest when fighting Itachi because if they don't he'll beat them before they know it."

"You could say Hamura is his rival because he specializes in ninjustu while it's genjustu for Itachi but I don't think they consider each other rivals so I wouldn't really call them that. Their probably just each other's greatest obstacle, or were till Itachi beat him earlier. Now Itachi's Hamura's greatest obstacle." Naruto finished shocking Sasuke slightly. His brother was more awesome that he'd even realized.

 _"We never did get our rematch."_ Neji thought realizing he usually got paired up to fight Inoha or Shisui and Hamura.

"So why do you hang around my Nii chans friends when you're around my age?" Sasuke asked curiously.

"Because we all train together whenever they all have the time. I don't start the academy till next year but Hamura's brother decided to train me, or the Hokage told him to or something like that. Plus they're all my friends too." Naruto said proudly.

"So you get to train with Nii chan and his friends?" Sasuke asked feeling a bit jealous.

"Yup...I'm really far behind everyone though so I always lose when we have spares but it's fun anyway. I get to learn cool justu and everyone's always teaching me things about battle!"

Sasuke looked at the others and admitted to himself they did look pretty strong. They all had the same confidence he saw in his brother. The confidence of a capable shinobi.

"Do you think I could maybe train with you guys sometime if my dad says it's alright?" He asked sounding more hopeful than he would've liked to.

Naruto and the others grinned knowing it was pretty much an inevitability the moment he'd asked that question.

 **Hokages office**

"It's really that simple? You needed it to be known?" Fugaku asked the man I front of him knowing there had to be more to the matter.

"Indeed it is... I'd be lying if I said I wasn't aware of the councils attempts to keep the good the Uchiha do out of the public eye." Hiruzen stated grateful the time for this conversation had arose.

"I'd also be lying if I said I didn't give them permission to do such a thing. The fact is after the nine tails incident everyone had their doubts. I do apologise for allowing the suspicions of others to influence my decisions regarding the elder councils treatment of your clan, but as Hokage my duty is to the village before anyone else."

Fugaku couldn't help the frown that'd made it's way to his face at the Hokages statement.

"Well if that's the case why the sudden trust in my clan? What's changed so quickly that made you reconsider keeping the Uchiha out of the spotlight? Surely there's something you aren't telling me." Fugaku said staring into the Hokages cool expression and wondering what exactly the wise old shinobi was plotting.

"Surely you don't expect a potiental enemy shinobi to reveal all his secrets. Least of all a Kage."

Fugaku's breath nearly caught in his throat as Hiruzen looked at him with the same expression he'd used to size up the Raikage. Apparently the old man knew about the Uchiha's talks of rebellion and he wasn't going to take the low road and beat around the bush about it.

"So that's how it is is it?" Fugaku asked cooly. "How long have you known."

"Long enough to know you don't agree with the others but more of your clan have been turning towards talk of rebellion with every day that goes by. Eventually you'd be forced to comply with their wishes or risk your clan tearing itself apart from the inside."

Fugaku nodded at his statement realizing that's what the Hokage meant by it needed to be known.

"So you thought by revealing the truth to the public it might help to quell the growing feeling of resentment within my clan?"

Hiruzen nodded and Fugaku's fist balled at his side.

"So if not for your discovery of a potiental coup you would have never done anything to right the wrongs committed towards us by you and the council?" Fugaku said activating his sharingan as a way to ensure the Hokage wouldn't lie to him and get away with it.

Hiruzen's eyes narrowed but he knew what Fugaku was doing. To challenge him here would certainly mean death for his clan regardless of which of them survived and Fugaku knew that. The man was anything but a fool. He simply wanted the truth and he was ensuring Hiruzen knew he wouldn't accept anything but.

"Honestly it's quite possible I wouldn't have. To make matters simple Fugaku it's not you I didn't trust it was your clan, and to be quite frank I still hardly trust the majority of them. Don't think it's because you're Uchiha though. I don't share lord Tobirama's sentiments regarding your clan."

"If the Inuzuka where the one's in your position instead you would've found them receiving the same treatment. Honestly I wasn't sure whether the rumors pertaining to the Uchiha being involved in the nine tails attack were true or no-"

Fugaku's hands slammed on the desk cutting Hiruzen's sentence short. The Hokage could tell Fugaku was outraged at what he was saying so he gave the man a moment to gather together whatever it was he wanted to say.

Fugaku was attempting to rein in his anger before he spoke. It wouldn't do anyone any good if he let emotion get the better of him in this situation.

"You're really daring to insinuate the Uchiha would cause so much destruction without reason? Tell me Hokage, what benefit would have possibly come to our clan with the destruction of Konoha? What benefit great enough to compensate for the number of Uchiha who lost their lives on that night?"

"The Uchiha are a clan with a history of betrayal and sacrifice are you not?" Hiruzen asked shocking Fugaku.

The clan head took his hands off the Hokages desk and observed him coldly. He'd always had a respect for Hiruzen Sarutobi and he still did but the man's words were managing to get under his skin in a much deeper way than anything Danzo Shimura could ever hoped to achieve.

"If you don't trust my clan why are we still here. You'd rather hold us prisoner in our own village, you'd rather make us out to be less of what we are in the public eye to hinder our influence. You'd rather play mind games with the Uchiha and undermine our efforts to prove our loyalty to the village, all over something as shallow as a few baseless rumors." Fugaku spat entertaining the idea of a coup for the first time since it'd been brought up.

Hiruzen didn't reply, instead he let Fugaku's statement and all that'd been said hang in the air as he turned to look out the window of the office at the Hokage monument for a few moments before turning back to Fugaku.

"You know what changed in such a short amount of time was the village as a whole. You're clan has been getting closer to both the Yamanaka and the Monogahi of late."

"Don't remind me." Fugaku said thinking of the illegitamate child to be born by the Uchiha woman and the Yamanaka man who'd been tending the flowers near the east gate.

"On one hand revealing this information to you may end up resulting in you and your clan taking drastic measures, but on the other it may just earn me back a bit of the trust I lost with you all."

Fugaku's frown deepened and he wondered if the man was going senile. "Explain." He said knowing there to be more to the statement.

"I won't tell you exactly where I got the information from but while your clan was in the process of debating whether or not to go through with an insurection it would've been easy to have the leafs anbu infiltrate your compound in the dead of night and do the unthinkable."

"It would've resulted in a number of anbu deaths, possibly more than half Konoha's active anbu corps. Konoha would've also lost one of it's greatest assets, but instead I'm deciding to tell you that I know this rather than taking that course of action."

"And?" Fugaku questioned wondering where he was going with this.

"And...I'm trusting you, and your clan to do the right thing. I understand if I'm not deserving of your trust anymore and while I may not trust your clan mates I do trust you Fugaku. I publicly announced the wrong committed by the council towards you and your clan as a way to let the Uchiha know Konoha isn't entirely against them."

"Perhaps with that small gesture the ice towards the council in the hearts of your clan mates will began to thaw. The next time someone in your clan brings up the idea of an insurection the knowledge that we're aware of them toying with the idea might help to deter that train of thought."

Fugaku couldn't quite believe what he was hearing.

"So you wish to use me to sway my clans train of thought so that Konoha may continue to use my clan?" The man said showing no sign of calming down.

"Well you know what the other option is Fugaku." Hiruzen said letting that statement hang there before closing his eyes and sighing as he rubbed his temple.

"If it helps you feel any better I did mean what I said about not being able to allow the council to keep your deeds during the war out of the public eye. Not in good conscience at least...I've lost sleep over me and the councils treatment of your clan."

"People probably get tired of hearing this but my duty is to the village. I'd do anything necessary to ensure it's continued safety, no matter how wrong or inhuman. You and your clan have indeed been wronged but I see no reason we should continue to do so seeing it isn't necessary. Your innocence has been proven over time and now it's time to mend the Uchiha clans relationship with the village. If you will help me that is."

Fugaku was silent for a few moments as he replayed the man's words on his head and exhaled deeply feeling some of the anger flow out of him with the breath. Hiruzen Sarutobi was definitely a respectable man, he didn't attempt to lie or skate around the truth. His sharingan would've picked up on a visual que the moment the man had attempted to do so no matter how experienced a liar he was.

"I'll see what I can do." Fugaku said letting his sharingan fade from his eyes after a long moment of silence.

Hiruzen really only wanted to smile but he couldn't help the grin that'd made it's way to his face instead.

"I never doubted you would, you're a good man Fugaku."

Fugaku just nodded his head and walked towards the door exiting the Hokages office. He needed someone to talk with about this, he needed a drink.

 **Konoha festival grounds-Roof top**

"So you guys have been trying all day with no dice?" Shikamaru questioned after having the situation explained to him.

"Unfortunately, we've tried chunin and jonin and they're always on guard. You'd think our teammate would've been easier to catch of guard but it's like the guy has eyes in the back of his head." Shisui supplied.

"Well he didn't specify exactly how you were supposed to catch them off guard did he?" Shikamaru asked wondering what kind of messed up sensei would give his genin a mission on a day for rest and celebration.

"Nope, he just said we were supposed to catch someone off guard before the end of the day." Hamura replied knowing the Nara was likely about to recommend something they hadn't thought of.

"Well then, if you can't find someone who's guards down from the start the smart thing to do would be to either force or trick them into lowering it."

Shisui shook his head after giving it a moment of consideration.

"You're right, and that would probably work, but Shikono sensei wants us to learn from this mission. If we're the cause behind our next target lowering their guard then we won't have really caught a shinobi with their guard down."

"So your sensei basically gave you guys a mission he knew was impossible and you guys are deciding to play fair?"

Shisui and Hamura looked at each other before Hamura smirked.

"You do have a point but if we decided to do it your way we wouldn't be completing the mission in the way we're expected to."

"Yeah, we'd basically be cheating." Shisui added.

"I didn't know cheating was something one could really accomplish in the shinobi profession. Why's it matter if you don't complete the mission how you're expected to as long as you complete the mission?" The Nara questioned wondering if maybe their clans just held greater values of honor that his.

Shisui and Hamura spared each other another glance before they both broke out into a smirk and turned back towards the Nara recalling words from their first spare with their sensei.

 _"Hey now, no such thing as cheating in our profession, you either win or you lose."_

"Okay Shikamaru you're on. What's our game plan?" Shisui asked figuring since this was his plan he might do better than then at devising a strategy to enact it.

Shikamaru smirked and began inquiring about what kind of teacher they had thinking he just might serve as the perfect target.

 **Monogahi compound**

Amaris was walking back towards her room with an exhausted Kakashi leaning on her shoulder as the sealing had taken more out of him that was expected.

Much to the mutual delight of both the silver haired nin it'd been successful, although Amaris had never really doubted it'd work in the first place.

His eye which he had uncovered was the same onyx color as the eye on his right and had a straight black symbol which ressembled a tattoo underneath it. Really it was all of the sealing script bunched so tightly together it just ressembled a small line on the side of his face right underneath his left eye.

Kakashi was too tired from the sealing to actually make any remarks about it but Amaris doubted it would even matter to the jonin. Oddly enough the marking looked good on him somewhat, it drew more attention to his eyes and his good facial structures.

Amaris was still tired from her battle with Hatsue so Kakashi had been really reluctant about her helping to move him to her room so he could get some rest but he was in no position to refuse in his condition.

Amaris paused just outside her door seeing someone she'd never really personally meant or talked to before but seen and definitely heard of, Fugaku Uchiha being escorted somewhere by a house hold servant.

The man paused as he noticed her and Kakashi and the bowed his head slightly in a polite greeting as Kakashi and Amaris stood straight and bowed their heads a bit lower.

He continued past them not bothering to ask what'd happened to Kakashi's sharingan as the two were sure he'd noticed as his eyes had paused on Kakashi's right eye for a few seconds.

The two wondered what that was about watching him continue down the hall for a few moments. Whatever it was they didn't doubt it was important, he walked with even more seriousness in his gate and his expression than usual.

Amaris decided whatever it was it was nothing she needed to be thinking too hard on and opened the slider stepping inside her room with Kakashi beside her. He looked around taking in his surroundings and first remarking it definitely smelled like Amaris. The air was fresh and smelled lightly of mint and fresh rain.

The room consisted of mostly white and blue coloring and was devoid of any furnishings besides a bed roll, a standing dresser and along with the wide kind, a book shelf, and a number of flowers sitting inside soil troughs around the room.

"What, no mirror?" Kakashi asked earning himself a lovely sounding laugh from his girlfriend.

"Kunochi aren't supposed to look good, they're supposed to be effective. Having a mirror tends to make people more concerned and self conscious about their looks then they should be. I don't need that distraction, my job keeps me busy enough."

Kakashi looked at Amaris curiously wondering what made her so different from other females.

"Well...not having a mirror isn't doing anything to diminish your beauty anyway, so I guess you really don't need one."

"Oh Kakashi...stop." Amaris said feeling her cheeks burn and helping Kakashi onto the bed roll.

"I can sleep on the floor. I'm sure you're in need of some rest too and I wouldn't want to be an incovenience."

Amaris smiled a bit playfully and Kakashi instantly realized he just may have gotten himself into trouble. Amaris began laughing at the look of horror which quickly flashed through Kakashi's eyes.

"Relax Kakashi, it's not like I'm going to take you against you will or anything while you're too exhausted to fight back. Even if the idea does sound appealing." She trailed off causing Kakashi to sweat nervously.

"I'm just going to sleep beside you. I am your girlfriend now after all." She said moving away from him towards a closet and stepping inside.

Kakashi looked around the room relying on the last of his energy to keep him sitting up straight without collapsing onto the bed roll. He figured most men would die to be in a situation like this with a woman as beautiful as Amaris but if anything he wasn't excited. He was nervous even though he figured he shouldn't be.

He just looked around the room taking in the surroundings wondering what kind of books she had on her book shelf and pausing as his eyes landed on a number of blue and white roses inside one of the troughs at the head of the room.

He knew the flowers had to have been made by one of the Monogahi's nature style users as rose's only naturally grew in shades of red white and yellow.

"Do you like them?" Her voice asked coming from behind him.

Kakashi turned and saw her walking towards him in a pair of silk white pajamas which caused him to raise an eyebrow. She looked as if she planned on sleeping for the rest of the day rather than taking a nap.

"I do, they're very beautiful." Kakashi said looking towards the flowers again as his eyes lingered on the lesser amount of silver rose's before looking over the blue again.

"They remind me of you actually." He said not turning to notice the smile Amaris was sporting soften.

"Yukushia made them for me a long time ago as a birthday present. Rose's we're always my favorite types of flowers because their meanings are mostly always expressions of love, or at least the red one's are."

"Red roses mean passionate love while yellow means misplaced affection. White means refusal although most people don't know that. Giving someone a white rose is a rejection of their feelings and a statement that you don't love them."

"So what does blue and silver mean?" Kakashi asked.

"No one's ever given them any meaning because techniqually these colors of rose don't exist but every color holds a meaning to it so I guess we could just match them to the roses." She replied sitting on the other side of the bed roll and staring at the rose's thoughtfully with Kakashi.

"And what exactly would the rose's mean if we would do that?" Kakashi asked sounding genuinely curious.

Amaris looked at him for a moment before grinning happily, glad he actually seemed to be taking an interest in her most prized possessions besides her sword.

"Well every color has more than one meaning but if we were to fit the meaning for blue that's most fitting for a rose, I'd have to say they stand for positivity and understanding while silver would likely stand for patience and anticipation."

"And just what is it you're anticipating?" Kakashi asked looking at her curiously rather than the rose's this time.

Amaris blushed slightly under his gaze and averted her eyes from his unsure of why she became so nervous all of a sudden.

"I-I honestly don't know." She said before looking back up.

Kakashi held her gaze for a moment before placing his hand on hers and pulling her in for another kiss before he laid down no longer feeling nervous alone with her in her room but more comfortable than he'd felt anywhere else in a long time.

Amaris smiled at him fondly and Kakashi felt his chest warming up as he looked up at the beautiful creature that was his girlfriend. Her smile became a bit michevous a few seconds later and Kakashi knew no good was to come from it.

"Do you really plan on sleeping with the lower half of your face covered Mask kun?"

 _"Oh no.."_

Amaris reached for his mask and Kakashi caught her hand suddenly full of energy and the two began tangling with each other on the bed roll as Amaris tried to relieve him of his mask while Kakashi attempted to keep her hands at bay.

Eventually she gave up laughing happily beside Kakashi and he found himself unable to help chuckling at her antics. He smiled as he laid his head down on the pillow and Amaris moved closer to her him placing her arm atop his chest and resting her head in the crook of his neck.

Kakashi felt all the troubles and responsibilities in life fade away as she did so. In that moment it was just him and Amaris and the rest of the world didn't matter.

He wrapped an arm around her and a few moments later the two fell asleep as the fatigue they felt finally caught up to them.

 **Not far away-Monogahi compound**

The servant stepped outside of the room letting Fugaku know that he may enter and he stepped inside looking towards the man he had come to see, sitting next to a bed roll where there lay an unconscious Hatsue Uchiha.

The room was pretty normal, besides the obsidian and golden color scheme. There was a bed roll on the middle of the floor, a coffee table in the corner against the left wall, a tall dresser, a book shelf that contained a number of scrolls, and a sword rack that held three swords.

One of them Fugaku noticed had no sheath to speak of, the blade was a deep obsidian black and the handle was a deep crimson. Near the hilt of the weapon the blade curved into a crescent and went around what looked to be two wheels that appeared to be one unless you looked closer. They had ninja wire coming outside of them and disappering into small holes inside the blade. It wasn't a katana but more of a one handed western sword with a very weird design.

Fugaku nodded to the man in greeting knowing he wasn't one for formalities and looked curiously to the unconscious figure of Hatsue.

"Chakra exhaustion." Nubutaka explained following his eyes. "She pushed herself a bit harder than what she's probably used to."

Fugaku nodded wondering what kind of battle she'd been participating in during a festival that could push her to exhaustion but decided it couldn't be that important seeing as Nubutaka seemed perfectly calm.

"Do you have anywhere it'd be better for us to discuss the matter I've come to speak to you about?" He asked not really caring if they talked here as Hatsue was an Uchiha and one he knew he could trust.

He only asked out of curtiousy for Nubutaka not wanting to offend the man by bringing up a sensitive matter in the room he surely slept in.

"If you don't mind we can discuss it here, as I'd rather not leave Hatsue's side till she's awake and I know she's well."

Fugaku nodded finding his care for the woman he was courting admirable. Her condition was stable but he still wasn't allowing himself to take any chances which Fugaku could respect. He sat down a short distance behind Nubutaka to his left and folded his legs looking to the sword again and allowing his curiousity to get the better of him.

"That's quite the strange blade you have there."

Nubutaka looked to the sword knowing exactly what he was talking about and smiled lifting a hand and pulling it towards him with the magnet style.

"I call her Iilha." He said looking at the blade fondly. (ii-La-Ha)

He held the blade by it's handle and the edges opened slightly with a soft metal 'clinc' that sounded oddly pleasing to the ears.

"I'd demonstrate some of what she's capable of but I'd really end up tearing my room apart and I think my blade would get jealous if I was to do so." He said letting go of wherever he'd been applying pressure and the blades edge closed again.

"Hatsue turned it down saying kenjustu wasn't really her thing and I understood so I decided I'd gift her to Izumi instead. The wheels on the blade are held in place by two small but sturdy metal slits which connect to the double sided axel and allow them to turn. There's a chamber inside of the base of the blade just above the wheels that holds the ninja wire. A bunch of much smaller wheels are set up intricately inside to make sure the wires never jam."

"The hilt is connected to a set of very specialized metal struts within the blade that use a few springs to part the metal, and a locking mechanism to control the wheels. One wheel can expel the ninja wire while the other can reel it back in. Really it likely sounds like nonesense but I'm sure you'd be impressed if you could see her in battle, took me years to finish. I'd gotten the idea and began the work long before we came to Konoha."

"I honestly thought I'd never finish it but seeing Hatsue's passion for the wiring arts gave me the motivation I needed and I had a skilled weapon smith here in the village help me with the finishing touches. I'd use the blade myself but I'm already very much in love with my Alsuwra, but there's no other blade like Iilha in existence though." Nubutaka finished with pride. Feeling like he could talk Fugaku's head off while they were on the topic of that specific blade.

"So it's hollow inside?" Fugaku questioned wondering how a weapon that could break easily was supposed to be practical.

"Yup, but the metal sheets on the outside are thick and made of a special metal that absorbs impacts. You could drop this thing from the tallest building in Konoha and you'd likely only damage the hilt."

"The metal can be reenforced with chakra as well but that's not my place. Due to the inside of the blade being hollow though it's far more lightweight than any other blade you'll find, even most Katanas and short swords." Nubutaka tossed the blade to Fugaku and he easily caught it surprised at the weight or lack of it.

He twirled the sword easily in his hand from his spot on the floor and observed the blade in his hand for a moment. The craftsmanship was remarkable to say the least. The obsidian blade of the weapon was pure black but it shined in a way that reflected the light in the room.

Although the blade was practically the lightest weapon beside shurieken and kunai Fugaku ever held it was still perfectly well balanced. The hilt was the heaviest part of the blade but it was still light and it was long enough to be gripped evenly with two hands but short enough to be used comfortablely with one. It was was red with white leather straps wrapped around the handle reminding Fugaku of the Uchiha crest.

He applied pressure to the hilt attempting to open the blades edge when he realized that wasn't working and sent chakra into the blade instead. To his satisfaction the blade opened at one of it's edges and Fugaku turned it over to see the slit was so small he doubted anything besides a ninja wire could make it through.

He sent another pulse of chakra into the blade and it closed. He figured there must be a seal inside of it somewhere that activated the spring mechansm when it was feed chakra. Both the blades edges resembled the normal edge of a sword, just as sharp with no lines or blemishes that gave way to the fact that it could be opened. The blade certain was something special, he could see why Nubutaka spoke of it so fondly.

He wondered how the man was able to fit so much into such a slim blade but he chalked it up to the magnet style giving him a skill with metal others didn't possess. Iilha was only around the size of your average western sword, slightly thinner and likely just an inch longer. In other words just a bit wider than a katana but just the same length. The blade ressembled a small claymore more so than your average short sword or knights blade.

"What makes one give a sword a name and refer to it as a person rather than an object?" Fugaku asked having always been curious as to why some swordsmen insisted their blades had soul as Nubutaka seemed to do when he spoke of the blade.

"Well that's an easy one really. It's the love one puts into a sword when using or crafting it. The trust a competent bladesmen gives their sword and the care they take to make sure the blade stays competent. Take my Alsuwra for example. I didn't craft the blade nor was she given a name before I received her, but she saw me through many hard battles and after a while she became less of a thing and more of a partner."

"Iilha is like a child because of all the love and effort that went into crafting her. While to others they may just be objects, to the person who gives them their name and identities their just as human as me or you."

"I guess that makes sense." Fugaku said extending the blade back towards Nubutaka.

The man merly held up his hand and moved the sword back to the rack without ever touching it. Fugaku nearly smirked at just how convenient that looked.

"So I know Alsuwra is the one and only blade you use, but what's the story behind the third?"

Nubutaka looked towards the weapon in question with what Fugaku thought was regret.

"That's the blade I used before Alsuwra, I call him Raja." Nubutaka said giving Fugaku conformation that he was regretful of something as he heard the sadness in his voice when he spoke the swords name.

"How come you no longer use it?" He asked noticing it pretty much just looked like an inverted version of the katana he used now.

"Have you ever been to the island of whirlpool Fugaku?"

Fugaku shook his head and Nubutaka reached out pulling the sword towards him and allowing it to rest on his lap before he continued.

"Since the fall of Uzushio it's been a haven for bandits, rogue nin, and all kinds of criminals and low lives of all kind. As the closest clan to the Uzumaki since the Senju's line died out the Monogahi from Darsula village take it as our personal duty to make sure the entirety of the island doesn't become over run by negative foreign elements."

"I won't tell you exactly what happened in whirlpool that made me do so, but one of my trips to the island resulted in me slaughtering everyone I came across with this blade. I was there for two weeks and not once did I bother to eat. My body just kept going off soldier pills water and rage."

"I killed at least eighty three bandits/rogue nin on that island. Really it was likely over a hundred, eighty three is just the last number I bothered counting. My mother had to come get me and she forced me to leave. I've actually got a scar on my back from our battle, she really had to do a number on me or there would've been no way I'd have left." The Monogahi said with a smile that was sad.

"I wasn't the same for a long time after that but unfortunately though Raja never recovered. It's why I starting following the way of the sword actually. I never want to corrupt the soul of a weapon like that again if I can help it. So I swore to only use Alsuwra when absolutely necessary." He said holding the blade out towards Fugaku.

The clan head gripped the hilt of the weapon and felt a chill run down his arm all the way to his spinal cord. He let the weapon go and looked at Nubutaka in a different light than he had seen him in previously. Whatever the man had went through in whirlpool had to have been serious if it'd given the weapon an aura of it's own.

Nubutaka held the weapon in his lap a bit longer staring at it sadly as his eyes ran through memories of a not so distant past.

A pair of arms snaked their way around his soldiers startling him back to reality and causing him to wonder when Hatsue had woken up. She looked at him with a smile that was sad yet comforting, and Nubutaka figured she'd been woke long enough to hear enough.

He smiled sadly but appreciatively and slowly stood moving to place Raja on the weapon rack instead of using the magnet style to do it instead. The man still had a lot of respect for the battle scared blade and he'd treat it with tge utmost care and respect even if he'd never again use it.

Raja was actually the blade he'd called to his side when he thought he might have wanted to kill Danzo on Hatsue's behalf. If he was forced to take a life with Alsuwra he could live with that but he'd never willingly do so. In his anger at both himself and Danzo the blade he'd instinctively reached out for was Raja.

Fugaku and Hatsue watched as he grabbed his current sword Alsuwra from the rack and looked at it fondly for a moment before tossing it to Fugaku so he could get a feel of the difference.

There was no feeling that invaded his body but he did get a warm feeling from the blade and he began to wonder if there was some merit to swords men really awakening something of a soul inside of their weapons.

Maybe that explained why when Kakashi had broken his father's blade he'd never taken to using another sword again even though he'd been good with them. Maybe that was why only certain shinobi could use the mist swords, his perception regarding weapons would forever be different now.

Most shinobi definitely didn't stick with their kunai or even other weapons long enough to form a connection of any kind so it made sense why only swords men and some other weapon users had put any thought into the concept of soul within an inanimate object. It'd always seemed pretty far fetched to him before now.

He gave Nubutaka back his Alsuwra and he placed it on the rack with the same care he'd done with Raja sparing the cold blade another look of sadness and regret before turning to Hatsue and smiling as he attempted to readopt his usual demeanor.

The Uchiha brightened and smiled back obviously having been worried about him before she looked to Fugaku and bowed respectfully.

Fugaku nodded wanting to tell her she didn't need to be so formal when they weren't out in public. She was one of few Uchiha he would actually extend that privilege to. Most of his clansmen considered themselves above others but hardly did anything worth any real notice but Hatsue was different. She wasn't arogant, instead she was kind and humble. Something most Uchiha didn't have the inner strength to see as weakness.

Fugaku himself sometimes saw those personality traits as weakness but she'd used them to get her where she was now. Uchiha like Hatsue were rare and Fugaku was glad someone in the clan wasn't actually afraid of being anything other than what they were expected to be.

He wondered why he seemed to be so sentimental all of a sudden before the memory of his talk with the Hokage slammed back into him and remembered what he'd come here for. His emotions were in a jamble because he was confused, that's why.

Not wasting another moment he stood and walked to the door of the room and placed a privacy seal on it before telling Nubutaka and Hatsue they might want to sit down for what he was about to tell him.

When he finished recalling his meeting with the Hokage around fifteen minutes later Nubutaka was looking down with a thoughtful frown on his face and Hatsue looked more troubled than he could ever recall seeing her,Naruto.a bit fearful.

"How many of your men do you think are still considering a coup after today?" Nubutaka asked looking up to observe Fugaku.

"I honestly wouldn't know. I'll have to find out at the next clan meeting or perhaps call an emergency one. More of the clan had begun to sway in favor of the idea as the weeks went by and I'm sure in a few years there would have been nothing I could've done to prevent it. I'd have likely been forced to go along with it or risk something of a war for leadership."

"Be honest with me, where exactly did you stand on the idea of a coup?" Nubutaka asked recalling what Fugaku had asked him eight months ago.

 _"I'd like to know if the Uchiha clan were to leave the village and Konoha were to come after us who would you side with, the Uchiha or Konoha?"_

"I hadn't ever even considered it until the Hokages statement about believing my clan to be untrustworthy when all we've ever done was sacrifice for Konoha." Fugaku said with a bit of bitterness entering his voice.

Nubutaka believed him knowing Fugaku wasn't one to lie just to suit his needs.

"And now, you're really considering it?"

"No." He answered back plainly.

"I've tried my best to persuade the clan into avoiding thoughts of such an unsavory course of action but at the end of the day I'm just one man."

"I understand, even as clan head you really only hold power as long as the majority of your clan mates are content to allow you to do so."

"Exactly." Fugaku said glad the Monogahi understood as he knew he would.

"So what do you see to be your best course of action here?" Nubutaka asked wondering what the man had planned.

Fugaku sighed and brought a hand to his forehead as a sign of mental exhaustion.

"Honestly I've no idea. The Hokage basically told me in no uncertain terms that he and the elder council don't trust my clan. He'd like for me to defuse my clans hostilities towards him and the council so that they may continue to use us while they treat us as they see fit. He said it's not because of the fact that we're Uchiha but that's exactly what it is."

"No other clan has been labeled as suspicious, no other clan has been forced to build their compound upon land they didn't want. No other clan has been undermined in the public eye and I'm sure no other clans have been spied on. The only reason my clan members started considering a coup in the first place was because of the way Konoha's council treated us. Having the civilians look at use suspiciously we could've gotten over quickly."

Nubutaka nodded and Hatsue felt uncomfortable sitting in the room with them while they were having this conversation. She was scared of what her clan head might choose to do, she was scared of what the clan members might do if Fugaku didn't choose what it was they believed to be right in the long run.

Mostly though she was afraid of Konoha's council acting rashly towards her and her clan mates if they believed it best to just deal with the situation before it could become a problem.

Nubutaka put a hand under his chin and developed another thoughtful expression frowning slightly at Fugaku and the rest of the Uchiha's predicament.

"Honestly it's sad to say but really the only option is complying with the Hokages wishes. Leaving Konoha wouldn't be any good, another one of the great or even minor villages would jump on the opportunity to wipe you guys out or make your bloodline their own."

"Konoha might even decide it better to get ride of you guys rather than allow the sharingan to fall into the hands of a potiental enemy."

Fugaku nodded having already figured as much.

"A coup is definitely out of question now." Fugaku remarked causing Nubutaka to nod in agreement.

Nubutaka's eyes suddenly light up and he looked up causing Fugaku and Hatsue to look at him hopefully.

"Tell me why it is you feel like your backs against the wall here." Nubutaka said causing Fugaku to frown as he was sure the man knew why.

"Because I'm being forced to either ensure my clans complaince or allow them to die." Fugaku said with a hint of anger.

"And that upsets you because?" Nubutaka pressed onwards.

"Because the Uchiha are always getting the short end of the stick, Konoha has never trusted us, not since the establishment of the village. The Hokage is basically telling me to either let my clan be the reason behind it's own demise, or get them in line so that we can continue to be treated like dirt." Fugaku said the anger in his voice clear this time.

"Welll...seeing as that's the only option that's available at the moment, I'd say do it. Gold can only be found when one digs up enough dirt, am I right?"

Fugaku gave the man a look and a glare that said you can't be serious before he continued.

"If Konoha continues to treat you guys like they are then I'm sure your clan would be accepted in Darsula. No one could find you there, but it'd kind of strain our whole alliance thing so I ask that you give Konoha another chance first." Nubutaka said surprising Fugaku and Hatsue both.

"I'm sure he meant no harm, at the end of the day, he's just doing his job. Not saying he isn't wrong, but when are shinobi ever right?" Nubutaka asked with a sly grin.

Fugaku took a moment to think about his comment before smiling a bit figuring what he said about shinobi hardly ever being right to be true. Even if some of them were morally correct in most situations they still trained primarily to kill and deceive people.

If Nubutaka could really get his clan a place inside of his home village if worst came to worst the clan would have no need to start a war against Konoha when they could just go somewhere else where they'd automatically be accepted.

All he'd need to worry about was Konoha acting against his clan without provacation. If that were to happen he was certain Nubutaka and the other Monogahi would stand with them. Possibly even the Yamanaka too as they'd been getting much closer to the Uchiha as of late.

With this he could turn the clan away from rebellion as there was no more need. What the Uchiha decided to do at this point, whether they stayed or not would be entirely up to Konoha's council and how they acted towards them.

The Hokage said he wished to mend the relationship between the Uchiha and the village, but how could Fugaku trust his word when he was a part of the reason why the Uchiha no longer trusted the village. Sarutobi was a kind old man but he was also a hard bastard.

He'd straight up told Fugaku he didn't trust his clan mates and that it was either get down or lie down. He'd taken away the only choice the Uchiha had which wasn't really a choice but more so a dangerous path no one really wanted to follow but just felt as if they had no choice.

Nubutaka had just given them another choice but he only asked that Fugaku comply with the Hokages wishes first to see where it'd go.

"Are you sure you could ensure my clan a place in Darsula if Konoha continues to mistreat us?" Fugaku asked needing to be sure.

"As sure as I am I can move metal without physical contact." Nubutaka said holding a kunai suspended in the air just above his finger.

Fugaku smiled and it actually reached his eyes for once. A huge weight just lifted from his shoulders and he crossed his arms and felt himself relax a little as he began laughing uncharacteristically.

Nubutaka took a look at him surprised the man was actually capable of such laughter without being influenced by any alcohol. Hatsue grinned as well felt the same sense of relief as her clan head although not as great as Fugaku's, he'd been dealing with this far longer than anyone.

 **Random empty Konoha** **park**

"So this is the guy?" Shikamaru asked reffering to the Nara he had seen around the compound on occasion.

"Yup, that's him." Hamura replied from his place inside the bushes on the right of Shikamaru.

"He knows we're here." Shisui said observing their sensei with his Sharingan.

"What makes you say that?" Hamura asked not having seen him give any visual indication that he was aware of their presence.

"For just a second his breathing slowed and returned to normal in a way that was too conscious for him not to be." Shisui said knowing if their sensei had been asleep before they arrived he definitely was online faking it now.

Shikamaru looked at the man who was the target of his first ever shinobi mission although not an official one.

His adversary was a jonin and not just that, but another Nara. One with actual battle experience and combat instincts. Now that he and his new temporary teammates were faced with the reality of the challenge that sat before them he found himself slightly more intimidated than he'd expected to be before hand.

Oddly enough though a new feeling that was somehow similar to one he knew well rose within him. It was like the feeling he got when facing down against his father's superior intellect in a game of shogi.

He felt intimidated by the challenge but at the same time the thought of the difficulty behind it was exhilarating. Already his mind was running through plans he could stack of too of the current sets, he felt adrenaline building up inside of him enchancing his mental and physical functions.

The thrill of the small prospect of victory was enough to make him savor the moment before his mind would clash with his opponents. This however unlike most before it would be a battle of intelligence possessed of more physical volience than usual.

"Well since he already knows we're here there's no point in hiding, plan B it is. Shikamaru said walking outside of the bushes and throwing a kunai towards the tree the man was resting against.

Without even opening his eyes Shikono disappered into his shadow easily avoiding the kunai. He rose from the shadow the tree cast undeath it's branch and observed Shikamaru for a few moments hanging upside down.

"You're Shikaku's son aren't you? What have my genins gotten you into Shikanaru?"

Shikamaru snorted at the unwanted alteration to his name. And raised his hand detonating the paper bomb attached to the kunai in the tree.

Shikono having flickered to abandon the tree reappeared a short distance away and leapt into the air avoiding a pair of kunai that'd come flying from some bushes behind him.

"So I take it that's either Hamura or it was Shisui." He thought looking at the bushes and twisting in the air to land.

As soon as his feet touched down a pair of hands rose from the dirt. Shikono quickly moved his shadow into the holes the hands rose from, forcing them to let him go, Shisui was behind him in the next second.

Shikono ducked a kick as Shisui flew over his head, the ground beneath him rose and he ducked a punch from an emerging Hamura who apparently hadn't been alone.

The other Hamura rose from the dirt to stand in a circle around the Nara while Shisui stood a little further back, but close enough to launch an attack. Shikamaru stood a short distance away with a kunai in his hand likely waiting for an opening.

 _"So instead of catching someone off guard they're going to attempt to force me off mine as a way to complete the mission."_ Shikono looked at the boys and sighed.

He'd hope they'd try this with Itachi when they realized they weren't catching anyone chunin or above off guard but no...they made him the target instead. Fate could be so cruel to him sometimes. This wasn't a training session to test their abilities however. If he got away they'd have to go find someone else.

He pulled a smoke bomb from his weapons pouch and two copies of himself rose from his shadow. He raised his hand prepared to launch the smoke bomb when his eyes widened as he found he couldn't move.

He looked down and saw a shadow stretching out from Shisui's feet connecting with his. The air beside him seemingly moved, or flickered and Shikamaru appeared holding a kunai at his throat.

The jonin's eyes widened slightly as he realized the simplicity of the plan they'd just executed perfectly. Shisui was Shikamaru from the start and Shikamaru waa Shisui. The plan was so simple it was something Shikono wouldn't have even thought to expect.

Shikono's clones all faded back into his shadow seeing it was over already and the Shikamaru next to him grinned and backed off poofing into Shisui as Shikamaru let his Shisui transformation fade and recalled his shadow giving Shikono back his freedom of movement.

Hamura's clones crumbled back into the rock they rose from and the three came to stand in front of Shikono expectantly.

"So what did you guys learn, and how'd he end up here?" He asked pointing to Shikamaru curious as to how they'd run across and convinced the lazy Nara clan hier to help them.

"We learned chunin rank and above ninja make it their business to always be aware of their surroundings!" Hamura said in a business like tone that was a bit too military for Shikono's taste.

"And?" Shikono questioned planning to tell them repeat the mission if that was all.

"And we learned catching experienced shinobi off guard is pretty much impossible. Your best bet of doing so would be coming up with a plan ahead of time before you engage them." Shisui said in a less military tone than Hamura but just as serious as he'd been.

"Good, and you?" Shikono questioned a bored looking Shikamaru.

"My father's an ass who makes excuses to get me out of the house, so he can be alone with Mom."

Shikono tried to contain a laughter at the young Nara's apparent annoyance but failed miserably. Guess that explained what Shikamaru was doing with his genin.

"So did we pass sensei?" Shisui asked wondering if they'd learned the lesson they were expected to learn from this assignment.

"Passing assignments and completing your missions isn't all that matters Shisui. What's important in life is that we learn from every action. Sometimes a faliure will teach you more than a success and you'll find yourself grateful for the lesson it teaches you."

"So did we pass our fail?" Hamura asked listening to his sensei but disregarding what he was saying for the moment.

Shikono sighed and flickered away without answering their question. Shisui smirked and gave Hamura a fist bump for that one. While occasionally irritating Itachi was fun and all they drew nearly just as much fun from irritating their sensei.

Shikamaru saw what they'd done and shook his head before turning ready to head back to his compound.

"Woah woah woah! We just completed a mission together, we gotta go get some food to celebrate." Shisui said stopping the Nara from leaving.

"I think I'd rather celebrate with a nap." Shikamaru said completely serious.

"You're too young to be so lackadaisical about everything." Hamura said agreeing with Shisui. "If anything you'll sleep better on a full stomach, might as well come along."

Shikamaru considered what he was saying and decided if he did eat before going to sleep he might not wake up later looking for something to eat.

"Lead the way." He said after a moment causing the two to grin and take to the roof tops.

"Great...more work. I don't know what it is shinobi find so alluring about leaping across roof tops." Shikamaru thought following their lead even if he'd rather have walked.

 **Back at the festival**

It was getting later in the day. The sun was now beginning it's low dip on the horizon, the remaining rays of the daylight would soon be lost by the inevitable embrace of the night.

In five, maybe fifteen minutes, Anko guessed. Neji and his family had left their group to head back towards them compound. Hatsue and Nubutaka's were still at the compound doing Kami knows what she figured.

Imari and Inoha were playing games with Naruto while Jiriya and Tsunade kept an eye on them although it likely wasn't needed.

Even if most of the kids in their group weren't capable of defending themselves if need be people would only began really leaving the festival in droves at around eleven and it was still seven.

While Tsunade and Jiriya spoke with each other Jusino and Lilly both stood to the side and watched Naruto play games with Imari and Inoha.

Anko didn't know why they just watched instead of participating but she figured it had something to do with Lilly's apart frailty. Maybe not playing was Jusino's way of comforting her, it'd definitely suck if everyone else played and she just stood there by herself.

Anko would've stood with her but Jusino had that covered so she just stood off to the right seeing the appeal in the fair games but not seeing the fun of them. Sure they looked fun but they were made to draw the eye, she didn't think she'd really like them much.

The one they stood at currently consisted of a test of accuracy. One was to throw a set of rings at a group of standing bottles without missing too many of your rings. The vendor started you off with five rings and if you missed three you were disqualified. Rings at the center of the pile had greater value but we're harder to hit than those on the outside.

Naruto had already found himself disqualified twice but much to the amusement of everyone else the blonde refused to give up and admittedly he did do better everytime.

Anko found watching the others play the game that held no appeal to her wasn't all that bad. She was bored but she didn't care, she had some form of entertainment in the form of Naruto and the others. Plus she liked being around Imari and Inoha whenever she wasn't training. While she didn't consider Danzo to be something of a father to them as they did she did consider the two to be her sisters.

She began to wonder of ways to get ride of her boredom that didn't involve harrassing Naruto like she'd been doing since Hamura and Shisui's departure. The blonde boy was just too fun to mess with and he was easily excitable, like a bundle of fireworks.

Hatsue's presence usually would've been more than enough motivation not to purposely pester the blonde but she wasn't here at the moment. Unfortunately though Imari and Inoha had both also fallen for the boys charms and they began keeping Anko away.

 _"Traitors."_

"Hey! I wanna try that!" A voice said meeting Anko's ears causing her to turn around and grin wickedly as she saw three new targets she could harrass.

"You'd probably throw like a girl, Shisui. I've seen grown shinobi fail here today, you shouldn't waste your money." She said as soon as he neared them.

"You seem pretty confident I'll lose? I've got a pretty good throwing arm." Shisui defended.

"Sure...if you think girls have good throwing arms."

Shisui frowned at what she was insinuating. "I've got next!" The Uchiha said walking past Anko and slamming some money on the conter.

She began chuckling and holding her hands over her mouth attempting to hide her delight and Shikamaru looked at her warily.

 _"This one's trouble."_ He thought looking at Shisui who was now eyeing the bottles critically as if picking out his targets ahead of time.

"Do you wake up everyday and make it your mission to mess with people?" Hamura asked inwardly grinning at how she'd just played Shisui.

"No, people wake up everyday to get messed with by me. Do you wake up everyday feeling like an old man whenever somebody says your name?"

 _"Ouch."_ Shikamaru thought seeing Hamura's face go from slightly amused to agrravated just like that. _"It'd be wise to avoid this one."_ He thought seeing her eyes sparkling with mischief.

The two began going back and forth, the purple haired girl obviously relishing the argument while Hamura found himself helplessly caught in her trap.

 _"I thought we were supposed to be grabbing a bite to eat."_ Shikamaru thought noticing the girl had somehow gotten to him without even trying by distracting Hamura and Shisui from the goal they'd decided on just a few minutes earlier.

 **Hyuga compound**

Neji wondered what reason his father and uncle had called him to Hiashi's office for. He stood across from the two as they both observed him for a moment.

"Son-" Hizashi said speaking first. "About the Shimura girl you spared with, her name was Inoha right?"

Neji nodded wondering what Inoha had to do with why he was here. Maybe the felt he shouldn't have lost that battle.

"During your battle you said she was in possession of the crystal style correct?"

Neji nodded a yes, wondering where this was going.

"You and the Shimura girl are close?" Hiashi questioned.

Neji paused for a moment not really knowing how to answer that question.

"I think she considers me both a rival and a friend and it's likely I consider her to be something similar. While I wouldn't say we're exactly close I'd at say we're friends or something of the sort."

Hiashi nodded and told Neji he was free to leave causing the Hyuga to walk away with more questions than he'd come in with.

"So what do you think Hizashi?" Hiashi asked his brother after his nephew was gone.

"I think if there's a chance of Neji growing closer to the Shimura girl it's something that shouldn't be forced. The two already seem to be fond enough of one another. Their still children at the moment though so it'd be best wait till giving Neji any specific instructions regarding the girl."

Hiashi agreed with his brother and decided not to share this information with the council. Perhaps the two were just friendly rivals and nothing more, but the girls taijustu prowress were exceptional for someone so young as was Neji's. Hiashi could see the two growing closer over time as they battled one another.

If things went favourably for the Hyuga they'd be able to secure a tie to the Shimura and the Monogahi but only time would tell.

 **Time skip coming in the next chapter and I'll be addressing everyone's age and the amount of time that's passed so far since the Monogahi have come to Konoha. I brought Shikamaru in at this point for a reason that'll be apparent later. Usually I give previews for boring chapters, but here's a preview for the next one just because**.

 **Things to expect-** _Danzo finally confronts Jugo, we hear a bit more of Anko's back story as I'm writing it in this fic/ The Uchiha have a council meeting/ We see Naruto Sasuke and Hinata's progress over the course of the time skip/ Izumi demonstrates what she's learned with Iilha so far/ Nubutaka takes Neji on a special training trip and we finally get to see Neji use a sword/ Team twelve undergoes a mission/ Orochimaru tells Anko who he is for reasons I won't say here._

 **I may add more, but that's what I have planned out so far. By next chapter enough time will have passed that Naruto and Hinata will be in their first year at the academy.**

 ** _Thanks to everyone for staying with the story this far and just reading. Big thanks to everyone who gave a fav or follow!_** **Shy:** Izumi and Itachi are so cute guys!

 **Al Kabir:** I gotta say I really love how you explained the meanings of the colors of rose's and even gave the others a meaning that made sense pertaining to their colors.

 **Kasuf:** I agree that was really awesome and I wasn't expecting it.

 **Shy:** Thanks! I honestly don't know where the idea came from but I'm glad Kabir made sure I knew the messages of flowers and the meanings behind the primary colors.

 **Kasuf:** I really like how you write Izumi and Itachi.

 **Shy:** There's so much potential in their relationship with one another and their characters period their lines practically write themselves, especially when their with each other.

 **Al Kabir:** Any particular reason you added Shikamaru so early?

 **Shy:** Nope, I just really want him and Naruto to be friends by the time their in the academy and since next next chapter will take place in their first year of the academy I had to add him here.

 **Kasuf:** What other treats do you have in store for us next chapter?

 **Shy:** Everything I mentioned above and a few more goodies I've got planned. The stories about to pick up pace and we'll start bringing in more canon characters at this point.

 **Al Kabir:** What ever happened between Gai and Yukushia?

 **Shy:** Shhhh, I'm hoping the viewers will forget about those two until later!

 **Kasuf:** So this will be a non Uchiha massacre type fic then?

 **Shy:** Hmmm! I don't know yet! It's my biggest indecision besides who'll fill the Hokage seat next.

 **Kasuf:** What the hell is Orochimaru planning damnit!? I'm tired of waiting to find out!

 **Shy:** What isn't he planning? **Grins evilly**

 **Kasuf:** That's no-

 **Shy:** Enough questions, can't take up too much space!

 ** _Hope you guys liked the chapter please read and review!_**


	19. Chapter 15

**Disregarded anything you know about ages in canon, as well as my last age markers.** **Everyone** **is getting bumped up or down a year for various reasons I'll explain at the end of the chapter.**

 **If anyone thinks Naruto or any of the others are advancing too fast for their age just remember Shisui and Itachi fought in a freaking war at like five and seven and Itachi graduated the academy by seven years of age.**

 **Age Marker-** If you're curious about the age of anyone else just let me know. All other part one genin are six, there's a reason for Sasuke being younger than the rest.

Itachi-9

Shisui-10

Hamura-9

Neji-8

Naruto-6

Hinata-6

Sasuke-5

Inoha, Imari-8

Anko-10

Kakashi-20

Amaris-21

Nubutaka-25

Hatsue-23

 **Hope you guys enjoy the chapter. Please don't skip the Please Read at the end of it.**

 **Exactly 3 years have passed since the Monogahi came to Konoha.**

 **9K Words**

 _Compromising situations_

 **Land of fire-Eight months later** **: 5:07am**

Itachi Hamura and Shisui sat in a tree waiting for the targets they'd been tracking for two days now. Although Shikono sensei happened to be the best tracker in their group Shisui wasn't too far behind him and he said he was sure they'd be walking through this little stretch in the woods pretty soon.

They waited quietly inside their individual tree's sparing only a moment to wonder what exactly happened to their sensei. He was beginning to disapper on their missions much too often these days.

They kept their eyes and ears on every section of the forest around them, the rogue nin they were tracking were apparently pretty good at evasion. They'd become something of a problem as they'd actually gotten bold enough to attack a small town on the land of fires outskirts.

Standard procedure for rogue nin was execution. All of them had earned themselves a small kill count while working under Shikono, he was sure to throw them into situations where they'd have to take an enemies life on occasion.

Apparently he didn't want them going soft which Hamura had mixed feelings about. Why make your genin get used to the habit of taking a human life, but Shisui and Itachi apparently understood. There could be no room for mercy and compassion on the battlefield.

Itachi heard the call of a falcon and turned to see Shisui point out five figures in the distance. The genin all spared each other a glance before nodding simultaneously and proceeding through the trees towards their targets with all the stealth they could manage.

The rogue nin just continued walking and conversating about their next job completely oblivious to the talented young shinobi making their way towards them till one of them stopped walking all of a sudden and began to shout something.

Itachi's sharingan caught the man's facial expression change as soon as he became aware of them and before he'd even had the chance to voice whatever warning he'd been about to shout to his friends a kunai had already planted itself in the man's neck.

Itachi mentally scoffed at the ease in which the man was dispatched. Itachi always went for sensors or the most alert of the enemy shinobi first when he could, usually though taking one out ever hardly proved to be that easy.

 _"A rogue genin, and not even a good one."_ He figured.

The other rogue nin quickly stopped walking and began paying attention to their surroundings. Shisui flickered behind one of them and found a fatal strike of his kunai blocked by an odachi. He shot a blast of chakra out of his eyes into the eyes of the nin that'd blocked his blade and flickered away back towards the cover of the tree's.

"Guys!" The shinobi he'd made eye contact with shouted before cutting down one of his comrades.

"What the hell are you doing!?" One of the others shouted.

"I-I can't control my arms!"

"It's an Uchiha!" The third remaining rogue nin yelled recognizing this as one of the sharingans abilities.

A pair of hands rose from the ground pulling in the man who'd yelled, and then there were two.

 _"These guys are rogue nin who've been causing a problem? You've gotta be kidding me."_ Shisui thought surprised at how easy this was.

He flickered to stand behind the remaining shinobi as the man under his hypnosis constantly shook as he attempted to fight Shisui's influence. Itachi jumped out of the tree and landed behind the other rogue nin and Hamura rose from the ground to the right of them while his clone rose from the ground to the left.

"You two are surrounded and both the last of your group." Itachi said feeling something wasn't right.

There was no way these shinobi were responsible for giving the usual patrols in the area so many problems.

A clapping sound came from the left of them and they looked up into a tree and saw a man who was likely in his mid fourties standing on one of it's branches not far from where they'd been.

The man had grey hair that was nearly white, two large scars on his face and an old Konoha flak jacket. His arms were pretty muscular and although he wore no headband it went without saying that he was a rogue nin. He was wearing a subdued grin and a look of interest as he observed the genin.

"Congratulations kids, you took out most of my squad. While I don't really appreciate that I've gotta give you your props. You three are chunin aren't you?" He questioned unnervingly calm in the face of him enemies.

All three genin knew that to be a problem. A shinobi who was calm in the face of an unknown adversary was either foolish enough to underestimate his enemies or very confident in their skills. This man seemed to be the later.

"We're genin." Hamura answered noticing how both he Shisui and Itachi had tensed upon noticing the man's pressence.

They were tense and he was calm, one could tell when one's adversary was a person of adequate skill and experience.

"Genin?" The man asked raising an eyebrow. "Your sensei must be holding the three of you back because you've the look of chunin to me. Especially the younger looking Uchiha, your eyes are colder than your teammates."

Itachi said nothing in reply, he continued to observe the man putting together aas much intel as he could about him from the subtle visual qeues, as he knew his teammates were doing.

His arms were rather muscular which suggested he had a greater penchant for physical combat than most shinobi, his face bore a number of scars that appeared to have come from the blade of a weapon.

The type of scars one received from up close and physical combat which lead Itachi to believe his hunch about the man preffering physical combat. He wore his old Konoha flak jacket which could leave one to believe he was proud of his former rank and time served as a shinobi.

The total absence of a headband altogether said the man had not only turned his back on Konoha in becoming a rogue nin but he'd turned his back on the village althougher, not even bothering to acknowledge it as the place of his origin.

Shisui took notice of the way the man stood, his feet perfectly spaced, his legs completely unstiff, his posture straight, but what mattered more than that was the fact that the man had his arms crossed. While his legs gave the impression of a shinobi who was on guard the posture of most of his upper body could be said to be completely lax about the situation.

He figured this was a shinobi who would be willing to fight recklessly and rely on his legs to get him out of trouble. Shisui was more than sure he relied on speed more than anything, and possibly even gorilla tactics, it was too soon to say.

Hamura knew from the man's grin that he was bad knews. Usually the only time someone would grin at an adversary was when they knew they were superior, his grin wasn't one of arrogance but confidence. The look of interest he saw in his eyes he figured they might be able to use to their advantage.

As long as the man was interested in them he'd take his time to draw out the battle, he likely wouldn't begin fighting with full deadly intent from the start. In short he might just underestimate them, and that might just seal his fate.

The man said nothing as he watched the genin all run their own short survey's and form an analysis of him. They must be well trained chunin then he figured.

"No point in lying kid, no genin could have taken out my men so easily. Even if most of them did leave a lot to be desired when it comes to people claiming the title of shinobi."

"Look gramps, we appreciate the compliment but we're here on a mission and conversating has never really gotten any shinobi anywhere." Shisui said not liking how calm the man was, he'd rather just get to the fight already.

 _"Shikono sensei always picks the best times to disapper."_

The man smirked before leaping from the tree and sparing both his remaining comrades a look.

He pulled out a kunai and threw it towards one of them aiming for the neck. Hamura's clone quickly rushed forward and hit the kunai out of the air with a kunai of it's own and glared angrily at the man.

"What the hell are you doing? That man's your comrade isn't he!?"

The man crossing his arms and began to look a bit displeased.

"A comrade who's under the hypnosis of one of your comrades. That makes him a liability, and besides...if he's so weak he can't break a low level sharingan technique he never deserved to work under me anyway."

Hamura scowled at the man and created two sealess rock bunshin.

"Oh..you kid's definitely aren't genin, or you aren't at least." He commented pulling out another kunai and throwing it towards the man.

Hamura's clone planned to deflect that one too but it exploded as soon as it neared the causing a small cloud of smoke and dust. The leaf shinobi all backed away not liking their chances of fighting a superior opponent with their visibility hindered.

Shisui's eyes widened and the smoke cleared revealing the man who'd been hypnotized on the ground choking in a pool of his own blood. Shisui frowned and Hamura's eyes widened and he grew visibly angered.

Both Shisui and Itachi could tell that'd really gotten to their teammate. They learned a while ago that when he felt strongly about something the gold in his eyes would continuesly brighten till it began to cover the brown and his eyes began to glow yellow.

Itachi's demeanor didn't change at all and he gazed at the remaining nin wishing they'd have taken him out too before his leader showed up.

"What kind of scum shinobi are you!?" The Monogahi growled causing the man to smirk.

"The kind who gets things done. If you care too much for your comrades you'll only limit yourself."

"Don't let him upset you Hamura." Itachi said hoping to keep his teammate stable. "We can't afford to risk getting emotional in this fight."

"Good advice kid." The man said pulling out a kunai and throwing it at Itachi.

Itachi stepped out of the way and a chain quickly snaked it's way out of the tree's, wrapping around his leg and pulling him into the path of another kunai. Shisui quickly deflected the kunai and Hamura and his clones grabbed the chain attempting to keep it from dragging Itachi into the woods, but the person on the other side was in possession of some crazy strength and it was a real struggle.

The man threw five shurieken at Shisui and added in a kunai with a paper bomb attached. As soon as Shisui's kunai touched the other kunai the paper bomb detonated causing Itachi and Hamura to look up in shock, Shisui reappeared a short distance away on a tree branch with a burn mark on his left arm and his shirt sleeve gone but otherwise he looked okay.

Suddenly another kunai landed in the dirt besides Hamura and Itachi and both their eyes went wide as the paper bomb on it's handle lit up. Another explosion rocked their section of the forest. The smoke cleared and revealed a dome of rock that crumble away to reveal an uninjured Hamura and Itachi.

A pair of hands rose from the ground underneath the grey haired rogue nin but a paperbomb went off at the same moment blowing Hamura's bunshin to peaces.

The same man stepped from behind a tree and smirked at the three genin.

"Regular clones are so useful as distractions, it's really a shame practically no one bothers using them."

 _"Don't be so quick to think you have us out classed."_ Shisui thought creating two shadow clones.

Hamura took a moment to gaze at the woods and wonder who was his other rock clones were fighting. A shadow clone of the man or another shinobi entirely?

"You're a jonin aren't you?" Itachi asked figuring he couldn't be a chunin.

"Who knows? You kids are genin after all, I could just be a chunin right?"

Shisui Hamura and Itachi all spared each other a short glance before Shisui and his clones rushed forward moving so fast they blurred.

"Oh ho hoo! So one of the brats has the speed of a jonin!" The man said sounding excited as he began dueling with Shisui and his clones.

Hamura pulled out a kunai as Itachi created a shadow clone which went to assist Hamura's bunshin with fighting whoever had that chain in the woods. He began looking for an opening. Any weakness Shisui could create as he blizted the man. When Shisui was fighting like this it was best to give him space he could work with.

Shisui was really surprised the man could keep up with him and three of his clones all at once. The man didn't have enough time to counter but he still managed to block and parry all the blades coming his way in a way that was pissing Shisui off.

He came in for a vertical slash twisting to a horizontal slash with his other sword pulling back his right hand to jab and spinning to make two more horizontal slashes at the man's midsection, every attack blocked. He jumped over the man and spun but his blades meant only air as his opponent side stepped and continued to block he and his clones blades.

Shisui was back upon him again whirling around and twisting his blades in front of him in an unpredictable manner the man still somehow managed to keep up with. Hamura and Itachi watched shocked the man still hadn't made one mistake or allowed even one opening. Each Shisui was using a different style.

The original used his adapted version of Imari's style while another used Shisui's personal style they'd taken to calling the hummingbird while the last used a strange style of fencing they hadn't known Shisui knew. Only the real Shisui was using two swords as Imari's primary style called for it.

The clone on the left using Shisui's own style took a swing which missed. He twisted the blade around in his hand, going for a jab before quickly twisting the blade around again and going for two slash manuvers which were also dodged. He flickered to the other side of the man so fast he shouldn't have been able to keep up and swung twice launching two waves of fire off his blade. The man ducked and still managed to block and dodge the attacks from the other Shisui.

 _"No wonder most shinobi only ever attain the rank of chunin."_ Itachi and Hamura thought marveling at the man's skill and reflexes.

Shisui wouldn't be able to break through his defense's but if he kept it up he'd tire him out eventually and then they'd take over for him.

The fencing Shisui continued apply the most 'in face' pressure attacking in quick piercing jabs, always staying within the man's personal space. He lunged forward and the man parried redirecting his piercing attack with one of kunai causing the tip of that clones sword to collide with the other clones, effectively blocking both.

Shisui number one, (Original, Imari's style) took a horizontal swing at the man and spun in the same motion attempting to sweap his leg out from underneath. The man backed away to avoid both attacks and Shisui tossed one of his blades into the air and continued to spin turning his back to the man yet again.

The jonin took a stepped forward intending to attack in the split second while his back was turn but Shisui surprised him when instead of attempting to turn around fully he ceased the motion he'd needed and pushed off the ground, twisting his body into a back flip and kicking the sword that hung low in the air towards him.

The rogue nin barely managed to dodged the white blade of bone as it flew directly past his face and the Uchiha disappered not even a second after it did so. The man quickly whirled around hearing the air behind him flicker. He blocked a double bladed swing from Shisui right before he spun attempting to sweep his leg out from under him again.

 _"Kid's not really stupid enough to try that again is he?"_

The man backed away stepping over Shisui's sweap same as last time and Shisui tossed his blade up low into the air same as last time.

The man didn't rush forward this time, instead he waited. Shisui didn't backflip and kick the blade this time, instead he did a full spin and kicked it.

The rogue shinobi raised a kunai ready to knock the blade to the side when all of a sudden the Uchiha appeared in the blades place in an instant. Shisui took two powerful underhanded swings at the surprised jonin but still they only came up with air as his opponent flickered away. His clones quickly rushed after the man being mildly impressed by the originals display of skill with Imari's style they didn't know they'd had.

The grey haired shinobi was more than impressed, the Uchiha boys kenjustu was something else as were his flickers.

Using the replacement justu with the blade of bone instead of flickering to it and catching it out of the air like he'd done last time had been ingenious, it'd nearly caught him off guard.

Clone number one (Shisui's hummingbird style) and clone number two (a fencing style) blurred towards the senior shinobi wondering how the hell it was possible he hadn't revealed any real opening yet.

Clone number two launched a series of crooked jabs with his blade attempting to knock the man off balance or simply provide an opening but his every strike was either dodged or meant with a solid guard. Clone number one blurred in and out as it launched attacks at the man, flickering here and there to create better opportunities of landing a successful blow.

It attacked with mix of accurate horizontal and vertical slashes and a number of kicks which almost were mostly meant with a guard of some kind. This Shisui however continuesly pressured the man into parrying his strikes as he'd occasionally launch a wave of fire or two from his blade. Blocking a strike from his sword only to be meant with a wave of flame would be disasterous for all shinobi who weren't flame retardant.

The original Shisui having reclaimed his sword rejoined the assault and the grey haired shinobi simply smiled at the Shisui attempting to bait them in with his apparently nonchalance and enjoyment of himself.

Niether Shisui or any of his clones fell for it but his teammates began to worry as they noticed his breathing was growing more labored with time and the jonin hardly even seemed to be slightly winded.

"Hamura, remember than plan we devised to defeat sensei last week?" Itachi asked deciding they couldn't wait for an opening when the man obviously didn't intend on providing one and they couldn't force one either.

"The one that involves the justu you just learned?" Hamura questioned needing to be sure considering they worked on a lot of different ways of beating their sensei.

"Exactly, our biggest fail yet but our closest victory."

Hamura nodded know knowing that they were thinking of the same thing.

"You're thinking that could help us here?" Hamura said as recognition made it's way to his eyes.

"If not, I honestly don't see how we're going to defeat this one."

Hamura nodded and began forming the hand signs calling to Shisui as he finished.

"Shisui! Get ready for operation hidden darkness!"

Shisui's eyes widened a bit before he developed a smirk and leapt away from his clones allowing them to continue applying pressure as he waited for all hell to commence.

Hamura leapt to one of the tree's in the area along with Itachi, the two still holding their hands in the seals for their respective justu.

"Yin style: Bringer of darkness."

 _"Earth style: Carnivorous caverns."_ The ground below the jonin opened up into the form of a gaping maw with a number of long deadly looking spikes, just as the battlefield began to darken in a way that erased all light in the area.

The jonin leapt backwards just as the hole opened wide enough to swallow him whole. He was familiar with the carnivorous caverns technique, it was an A rank earth style justu the user had to continuesly focus on. Wherever he landed the earth would continuesly open up into the shape of a ferocious gapping maw till it swallowed him whole.

The bringer of darkness technique was practically perfect for this justu, he wouldn't really be able to tell how dangerous the ground below him really was and the moment he ran into a tree it was definitely over. In short he'd have to keep moving and rely on plain luck and his memory of the immediate area not to crash into any obstacles.

Then there was still the brats to worry about, the younger Uchiha and the little Uchiha flash along with his clones. Admittedly though the carnivorous carverns justu bothered him more than anything else. He'd rather have to deal with the boy with the glowing predators eyes than to deal with this particular justu in a situation like this.

 _"Genin my ass."_ He thought making the younger Uchiha his target from that point on.

Too bad he couldn't see a damned thing in the total dark not even his own two feet. He kept moving not wanting the ground to swallow and chew him up, leaping to the branch of a tree he was grateful for remembering.

All was completely silent, all was completely dark. Not a sliver of light at all made it through the thick layer of darkness that now surrounded them, not a single sound could be heard. Not the wind outside, not even the man's own heart beat.

Shisui stood beside Itachi and the Uchiha provided him with a bit of his chakra so he'd be able to see most things within the dark realm of his cousins creation. They said nothing as they looked at the man standing on the tree branch finally appearing tense for the first time since their battle began.

Upon Shisui and Hamura mastering Nubutaka's Yang style world reflection three months ago Itachi requested he teach him a Yin style technique and to everybody's surprise Itachi had learned bringer of darkness in only two months.

The genin were tired of losing spars to their sensei so they developed the plan they were now about to inact as a way to take down their teacher although much to their horror they'd still ended up failing in the end. With their failure though they'd learned a very valuable lesson, and that lesson was they could kill damn near anyone when they used this justu with deadly intent.

The Grey haired shinobi stood on the tree branch more than a little apprehensive, he shouldn't have played around with the kids as much as he did. His arrogance had landed him in a compromising situation but who would've known an Uchiha brat calling himself a genin when obviously that wasn't his rank, would be capable of the second Hokages justu.

Where the hell had the brat even learned a justu like this from? Speaking of which, he was sure the Hokage wouldn't send a team of only chunin after a group of rogue nin as pesky as his was, there had to be at least one jonin among them.

While it was pretty obvious the kids were lying about being genin he found it hard to believe any of them to be anything above special jonin. He hadn't truly gotten to see the other two fight but he doubted they were much better than the kid with the swords, and while he could say the kids speed coupled with his kenjustu skills and control of the flicker could earn him the rank of special jonin he couldn't say that about the experience he had.

Konoha only assigned the rank of jonin to kids who possessed the skill to be called such during times of war. He knew only a few who'd ever had the misfortune to receive that privledge.

The three sannin of course, who were undoubtedly the most talented ninja of their generation, and Kakashi Hatake who'd undoubtedly been the nost talented shinobi of his. If anymore shinobi had been premoted to the rank of jonin before the age of thirteen, it'd likely happened after he left the village, since he wasn't aware of it.

He smelled fire and quickly moved jumping from the tree branch he was on just in time to avoid a fireball that only because visible to him in passing before fading into darkness only a moment afterwards. He now smelled burning wood and foliage, he knew that tree branch was as good as gone so he continued moving on the ground, his brow furrowing as he realized while he was in this justu there was no way to win this battle. All he could hope to do now was escape.

He felt a cold sharp pain in his chest and he realized he'd just been struck with a number of shurieken. Realization just dawned on him that not only was his sight cut off inside the darkness but so was his hearing. He hadn't heard the fireball even as it flew right past him, he could smell tree's burning but he couldn't hear the flames heating up eating through the wood.

All was silent, he couldn't even hear a shurieken or a kunai whistling in the wind. Such was the silence that the growing thump of his ever increasing heart beat was even numb to his ears.

His now bleeding chest hurt like hell but luckily his flak jacket had saved him from and real damage. He kept moving forward knowing if he stayed still for even a moment it was over, either the earth would swallow him or the chunin would pin him down.

He felt a burning pain in his back and he knew the sword weilding Uchiha had slashed him harshly through his flak jacket.

He leapt forward just as he felt the ground beneath his feet open, before he could move he felt a sword piece his left side and another sword slicing clean through his akilies tendon.

 _"Not my ankle daamnit!"_ The man thought applying pressure to his one remaining good foot and jumping away from the same position as the ground right there opened too.

As Hamura and Itachi watched Shisui and his clones follow the man they had to admit he was pretty dexterous for a shinobi who only had one leg. Shisui and his clones were cutting the man up good but his constant movement and his flak jacket was keeping them from landing any fatal blows.

Itachi pulled out more shurieken and threw them towards where he figured the man would retreat to after Shisui's next attack.

Sure enough his shurieken all struck true in the front of the man's flak jacket causing him to grimace in pain and let out something of a growl.

 _"This justu is really unfair."_ Hamura thought hoping to never be on the receiving end of such a technique.

The man leapt backwards yet again and Shisui and his clones followed yet again.

The now aggravated shinobi knew he had no chance of escape now. His chances of victory had been dashed the very moment the younger Uchiha activated the justu but now the small chance of escape he'd had was just as non-existent as light was inside the pool of darkness.

He felt more slashes coming through his flak jacket and making cuts against his flesh. He leapt away on one foot absolutely hating how pathetic he felt at the moment.

The worst part about the justu in his opinion was the silence. He couldn't see his opponents but not hearing them was worse. No laughs, no insults or jeers that one might usually hear aimed towards the losing party, instead he heard nothing. The silence was pretty fucking maddening, he couldn't even hear himself breathing. He knew with a certainty that his death drew near.

He felt two blades slice into the skin of his stomach and chest before he was meant with a pair of crimson eyes staring at him from the darkness.

The world quickly faded away from the man not a second afterwards.

Shikono watched as the shroud of darkness hanging over the area faded. He saw his genin standing around the bloody form of Nobuno Takashi, or Grey as he was known in the bingo books.

The man was sporting a large number of both shallow and deep cuts, shurieken stuck out of his flak jacket and inside his skin, he appeared to be alive but unconscious.

He saw his genin begin discussing something and decided to just observe them as he usually did.

"Whatever happened to the shinobi with the chain who was keeping hidden from us?" Shisui asked figuring his teammates might have a better idea of that then him.

"It was another rogue nin, one who appeared to be a jonin." Itachi supplied having more information then the other two since he'd sent a shadow clone after it while Hamura had sent only rock bunshin.

"Sensei took care of him." Itachi finished knowing their teacher was somewhere among the tree's right now observing them.

Shisui nodded before his mind formulated another question.

"So what happened to you and Hamura's clones?"

"Sensei took care of them too." Itachi answered seeing that question coming before he'd asked it.

Shisui sighed figuring that sounded just like their sensei, making it harder on them while making it a bit easier at the same time. Honestly his never ending series of test could get annoying sometimes, it'd be nice to have a sensei who stood alongside them in the face of danger instead of leaving just to see how they'd deal with it by themselves.

"So what are we gonna do with this guy?" Shisui asked nodding his head towards the unconscious jonin on the ground.

"Finish him here." Itachi answered pulling a kunai and advancing towards the fallen shinobi.

"No!" Hamura shouted clamping a hand down over Itachi's. "We've already rendered the enemy incapable of battle, there's no need to dispose of him." Hamura said seriously adopting a demeanor he only had for matters such as this.

"He's a threat" Itachi replied cooly. "There's no reason we should assume he doesn't have anymore allies out here somewhere. While he may be incapable of battle at the moment, it'll take us hours to reach Konoha. We'd be carting a huge risk by bringing him with us instead of disposing of him right no-"

"He at least deserves a fair trail Itachi."

Itachi's crimson eyes looked at Hamura's fiery yellow cooly. He knew his teammate had a great fondness for all forms of human life and he could appreciate that. However his appreciation did nothing to change the fact that sometimes you had to do what you had to do, regardless of if you agreed with it or not.

"Standard opperating procedure concerning rogue nin of any kind is immediate termination, if we were to bring him back to Konoha all that'd be waiting for him was a quick death. Even if he was to receive a trail the result would be the same."

"So you're just going to take it all on yourself to be his executioner!?"

Itachi nodded completely willing to do just that.

"The man is a rogue nin, our mission is to take care of him and his group. I'm just doing is what the village expects of us." Itachi remarked reminding Hamura of his duty as a shinobi.

"Standard opperating procedure says if we're to encounter a rogue nin we're to take them out. It doesn't say if we have the opportunity to capture one we choose to kill them instead." Hamura defended.

"What's the difference between what I'm doing now and what we do in battle? You've killed two rogue nin before, but you'd rather we arrest this one. What makes him so different from the others?" Itachi asked curious as to why his teammate seemed so adamant about this.

"The difference is this man is no longer capable of fighting. We never really had a choice with the others, usually we take down the enemy before they have the chance to realize we hit them." The Monogahi replied hoping to gain some ground.

He didn't like the man who's life he was defending, in fact he thought he was scum, but that didn't mean killing him when he couldn't fight back was right.

Itachi looked between the two for a moment unsure of if he should relent or not. This man was a traitor to Konoha, he really wasn't deserving of any kind of mercy in as far as he was concerned.

"What do you think Shisui?" Itachi asked looking to his remaining teammate who'd been quiet so far.

Shisui looked between the two before looking at Hamura and shaking his head.

"Sorry bro but I've gotta agree with Itachi on this one. The reasonable thing to do would be to finish him right here."

The bright yellow of Hamura's eyes faded to be replaced by a dull brown and his face fell into a mask of cold apathy as he let go of Itachi's hand looked away from the two and moved to stand beside a tree looking rather melancholic about his teammates decision.

Itachi spared his friend a glance figuring he'd get over it eventually, life was full of unsavory moments and hard decisions. He began moving towards the downed shinobi intending to end him quickly when kunai flew from behind his back doing the job for him.

Both Shisui and Itachi turned around more than a little surprised looking at Hamura questioningly wondering why he'd just done that.

"As a team whatever decision is decided upon should be enacted by the team as a whole." He said with a sad smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Regardless of if I disagree with you two or or not we're a team and the teams decision is final. All blood on your hands is blood on my hands and vice versa. I couldn't let you two carry the weight of that decision on your own knowing I was against it. That's why I did it, to show you I'm still with you."

Shikono nodded his head in approval from his place in the bushes. Shisui and Itachi were both naturals when it came to the shinobi lifestyle. While niether of them were particularly fond of the act of taking a life, in the situations that called for it it came easily to them both.

Hamura had been a different story though. Even after he'd gained his first kill in the land of wind when he incinerated the rogue sand nin, he'd proven reluctant to do so in situations where his life wasn't on the line.

It was one of the reasons Shikono continued to request missions of this sort from the Hokage. Usually rogue nin were left for a villages anbu to deal with but Shikono knew Hamura wouldn't feel threatened enough to take a life if it wasn't another shinobi he was facing.

While a part of him didn't really want to end up making the boy into a killer he would one day need to grow past his hesitation when it came to not taking the lives of those who weren't threatening his own. With that hesitation he'd only end up putting himself in more life threatening situations.

He didn't need to worry about Shisui and Itachi when it came to such things. Those two could both be shockingly apathetic to the life of an adversary when need be, in essence they were already of the perfect shinobi mindset.

 **Fugaku's office at Konoha's police station 7:13am**

"And the general opinion of most within the compound?" Fugaku asked the Uchiha at the head of his desk.

"Most seem to be perfectly content with Konoha's position towards the Uchiha now."

"And their position towards the half blood child born a short time ago?"

"Most seem to think our clan has a greater claim over the child regardless of it's father being a Yamanaka."

"And the others?" Fugaku pressed.

"The others are under the impression an Uchiha who possess the blood of another clan has no place within ours."

"Hm." Fugaku nodded letting the man know he was dismissed.

"About your other guest si-"

"He can wait, inform him that I will be with him shortly."

"Hai, Fugaku sama." The man said bowing before taking his leave.

As soon as the young Uchiha closed the door behind himself an anbu who's mask was rather bee like stepped into view and placed a privacy seal on the door.

"Report." Fugaku said getting straight to business.

"Talks of rebellion within the compound have slowed to a petty trickle. It seems that the Hokages plan was just as effective as he'd hoped it to be, however there is now another matter of silent discussion among the clan that requires your attention."

Of course there was something else, things could never be simple.

"And exactly what matter is this?" He questioned hoping it to be something trivial.

"A number of Uchiha feel outraged the Yamanaka are claiming rights to the child of mixed blood when it was fostered by an Uchiha woman. A lot of them believe there's a possibility the man was tasked with seducing a woman of Uchiha blood as a way for the Yamanaka to get their hands on the Uchiha's dojustu."

Fugaku nodded completely unmoved by the statement, he'd known as much. His own advisors had suggested the very same. While Fugaku didn't think that was true he also wouldn't stand for allowing a potiental bearer of the sharingan to be adopted into another clan.

"What other information have you gleamed?" Fugaku questioned knowing the woman to be an over achiever.

"I wasn't able to learn much considering the Yamanaka have some of the best sensory nin in Konoha but apparently the majority of the clan is upset the Uchiha are attempting to make claim to the child when it's father belongs to their clan."

That was also unsurprising, techniqually, the fact that the childs father was Yamanaka did give them rightful claim to it. Inoichi and Fugaku had both shared many heated discussions over the matter already and it only seemed things would get worse with time.

"How upset are they?" He asked needing an idea of the moods of his adversary's in this matter.

The anbu paused for a moment and Fugaku didn't take that as a good sign.

"Twice as upset over the matter as the Uchiha. Apparently the majority of them now believe us to be honorless power mongers with no true values."

 _"That mad huh?_ _Seems like compromising situation after compromising situation for the Uchha._

Fugaku could understand why though. His clan only wanted the child as a way to ensure their dojustu stayed _their_ dojustu. Even if the Monogahi were in possession of the sharingan that didn't mean they should just relent and allow the bloodline to fall into Yamanaka hands as well.

The next thing you'd know everyone in Konoha would be running around with sharingan and the Uchiha would no longer even have a reason to refer to themselves as Uchiha. The Yamanaka wanted the child though because by all right it belonged to their clan, it's father wanted it as well of course. The

Yamanaka were just as family oriented as the Monogahi. They'd never abandon one of their own especially not to a clan as notoriusly cold as the Uchiha. They'd let it slide if it was the Nara or the Akamichi perhaps. Hell... maybe even the Aburame or the Inuzuka, but not the Uchiha.

"Anything else to report Hatsue?" He questioned deciding that was a matter to dwell on later in the day.

"Danzo's men are still watching the compound." She said plainly.

"I expected as much" Fugaku said figuring nothing would surprise him today. "Do they know you're aware of them?"

"Yes, while I'm capable of remaining undetected by most regular anbu when needed NEE anbu are another story."

Fugaku nodded figuring wishing otherwise would be asking too much, as far as stealth skills went Hatsue's were exemplary. Likely a result of her avoiding being noticed by the members of her own clan for most of her life.

He had only just noticed she'd practically been a ghost around the compound until a year ago, it was very rare to see her, you had a better chance of running into her on the streets of Konoha which covered over twenty times the ground the Uchiha compound did.

"How goes your work in the anbu division?"

Hatsue nearly flinched at the question wondering if it was asked to be cordial, or as a matter of business. Either way she hadn't been expecting it but answering it was easy enough.

"It's been going smoothly Fugaku sama. My squad has been recently promoted from border patrol to rogue nin extermination. My commander seems to think that kind of work suits me better than just running simple patrols."

"You commander is Kakashi Hatake correct?" Fugaku asked already knowing the answer to that question.

Hatsue nodded wondering if she'd be made to spy on the anbu commander next. While she'd welcome the challenge getting past the commander keen sense's was something she didn't really see herself being able to pull off.

"How is he?" Fugaku asked surprising Hatsue again. Was her clan head feeling okay?

"He's...fine to the best of my knowledge, although I could do a bit of investigation into his condition if you'd like?"

"That won't be necessary." Fugaku said pleased she was ever willing to take on more task.

In truth how Hatake was doing was of little to no concerned to him. He just couldn't help but recall seeing the anbu in the Monogahi compound, eye completely devoid of a sharingan. Why a shinobi would willing ride themselves of such a tool was a mystery to him. What he did with it however was the bigger part of that mystery.

"How has Nubutaka been since last we spoke?" He asked really curious this time.

Hatsue's shoulders sagged a bit as she developed an air of relaxation. Fugaku would be willing to bet ten thousand ryo she was smiling under the mask.

"He's well, he complains my anbu duties don't afford us enough time with one another but he only jest when he does so, he tell me frequently he's proud of my work. He keeps himself busy with training young shinobi who come to him seeking to better themselves."

Fugaku allowed himself a small smile at the fondness he could hear in her voice. The two were truly a good couple and he was glad to say he knew he could trust both of them with matters of importance.

Sasuke was even fond of the man and his youngest son hardly liked anyone, fellow Uchiha included.

"Be sure to give him my regards." Fugaku said dismissing the kunochi.

"Hai, thank you, Fugaku sama." She said bowing respectfully before removing the privacy seal on the door, forming a set of familiar handsigns which were familiar but unknown to him. She disappered from sight just as she opened the door to his office and Fugaku knew she was gone a moment later.

 _"I'll need to request she or Nubutaka show me the handsigns to that justu one day. Shinobi practice hiding their presence throughout the bulk of their career, and those two literally have a justu for it."_ Fugaku thought wondering at all the benefits that'd come with an invisiblity justu.

A cold presence swept through his office and Fugaku nearly grimaced at the familiarity of it as well as the man who he knew to be behind it. The door to his office shut silently and Fugaku looked up to observe the man coldly just as he was observing him.

"Shimura" Fugaku greeted.

"Uchiha" Danzo replied.

"I take it you're hear to see Jugo?" The police chief questioned.

"Why else would I indulge upon myself the displeasure of your presence, Uchiha?" Danzo questioned not really looking for an answer.

Fugaku would rather be done with the man as soon as possible so naturally he choose to get to the point rather than to repy to it.

"He's in maximum security lock up. Take this slip with you, it'll get you all the privacy and free time you want with the man." Fugaku said honoring his part of the deal.

Danzo looked at the slip in Fugaku's hand for a moment not bothering to hide his disgust at having to accept something from the Uchiha.

Fugaku likewise couldn't even take pride in his departments conviction of Jugo considering he'd needed Danzo's help to get that conviction.

Danzo took the slip from the man's hand and walked back towards the door reaching a hand out when Fugaku's voice brought a pause to his action.

"I'm actually curious as to why you waited months after the man's conviction to come and question him on the knowledge you seek."

Danzo scoffed, of course a shinobi such as Fugaku wouldn't see the reasoning behind such an action. He decided he'd humor his curiousity since he'd even bothered asking when it was obvious the two shinobi both disgusted one another.

"Now that Jugo has had months to sit inside of a prison cell after his trail he knows he stands no chance of ever being free again. When he see's a member of the elder council has come to visit him seeking information he'll desperately cling to the hope that if he gives me what it is I want his sentence may be reduced. By waiting as long as I have I've created the perfect scenario to get my answers from the man."

Fugaku nodded in understanding figuring the man had intended as much, that's exactly what he'd have done if he was in the man's shoes.

Danzo left out of the office and Fugaku had to repress a shiver. Sometimes it was scary how much he and the Shimura clan head thought alike.

Both he and Danzo were aware that the reason they despised one another was because they both saw the other to be the worst part of themselves.

Danzo was a very skilled and intelligent shinobi of unquestionable loyalty to the village and unwavering beliefs same as Fugaku. However Danzo refused to acknowledge anyway that wasn't his own unlike Fugaku who always attempted to look at a situation from both sides of the coin.

Danzo allowed his beliefs to dictate his conduct, to rule his interaction with the world around him. While his conviction was admirable it practically pushed the things the man was capable of to the level of insanity and possibly even inhumanity.

Fugaku just like Danzo firmly believed that regardless of what one must do the ends nearly always justified the means but Danzo was much to extreme in this belief. The man would literally do anything, step on anyone or anything as a way to achieve his goal.

That's why he saw Fugaku as weak, in essence the two held all of the same beliefs but Danzo just took them to the extreme.

The men could respect one another but Fugaku didn't like that the ninja of shadow always delt in extremes and the ninja of shadows didn't like that wicked eyes Fugaku allowed his own feelings and morals as a person to compromise his own goals and ambitions.

To Danzo, Fugaku embodied all the weakness he'd eliminated in himself long ago. To Fugaku, Danzo embodied the worst that he could be if he was ever to lose himself and the things that kept him sane.

In short the two despised each other because they were too much alike but much to different as well. They both embodied the parts of one another that disgusted them the most. Fugaku was a constant reminder to Danzo of what he'd been and Danzo was a constant reminder to Fugaku of what he could become.

 **PLEASE READ:** _Sorry for the short chapter but when I got to 9K words I was just like, this is too easy. So easy to reach 9k words and so easy to proof read it too, I wanted to know if you guys would mind if I started making the chapters shorter so I can upload them easier and more frequently. It literally only took me two days to write this, **two days!**_

 **Authors note**

 **I had to change the ages because I had the age gaps wrong, they're right now besides everyone being a year older than they should be at this point, but for good reason. Sasuke will be a year younger than the rest of the part one genin for reasons I won't specify, don't worry though he'll still be in the same class and on the same team.**

 **Please let me know if you guys want me to continue doing the longer chapters or if you don't care if I start making them shorter.**

 **@Niebieskilis:** Sorry I'm just now getting back to you, but thanks! I'm really glad you thought so and I really hope you'll continue to enjoy the story.

 **Dialogue**

 **Kasuf:** You put your authors note in already, that's new.

 **Shy:** Usually I get you two to read the chapter just before I add the finishing touches. It's way easier doing things while this document is still under 10k words. Once you get past 13k it begins to lag and it only gets worse with the more words you add, the app would probably crash if someone ever reached 50K in one chapter.

 **Kabir:** Honestly I feel like the chapter was way too short, I'm not used to this when I read your fics.

 **Shy:** I do too though, it actually hurts me to upload a chapter this short but if I start doing them like this I can upload way faster with way less errors.

 **Kasuf:** If I get a vote as one of your faithful readers I suggest you keep them long. I'll even proof read them for you.

 **Shy:** Oh please Kasuf, you say that but as soon as I ask you'll be too busy with something else.

 **Kabir:** She knows you so well bro.

 **Kasuf:** Shut uuuup, I don't see you offering to proof read.

 **Kabir:** Yea but honestly I'm indecisive. She could keep them long or start going short, I'll still be forced to read them anyway right?

 **Shy:** Awww, you know me so well Kabir. :) Anyway what'd you guys think of the chapter?

 **Kasuf:** Too short.

 **Shy** Don't make me hurt you!

 **Kasuf:** I like how you explained the differences and the similarities between Danzo and Fugaku, the explanation actually sounded pretty realistic.

 **Shy:** Glad you think so. Kabir? :3

 **Kabir:** I like how Hatsue's taken on a roll other than just Nubutaka's student/love interest like I thought she would at first. I like how you developed her into someone of use to Fugaku and she doesn't just hang on Nubutaka all day.

 **Shy:** Of course not! Can't have useless characters in a story. All of them have to serve a purpose of some kind.

 **Kasuf:** Even Sakur-

 **Shy:** Even Sakura!


	20. Chapter 15 Part 2

**Like he was in part one Naruto's gonna be crushing on Sakura for a while but it won't last as long as it did in canon. I'm gonna actually make Sakura's Haruno heritage mean something here as well. I'll try to make her more likable than she was to most people in canon without changing her personality. As Naruto and Sasuke become badass shinobi she will as well. I hate useless characters, and while I don't hate or dislike Sakura like most people seem to I'll admit she has her flaws.**

 **10K words**

 _Old_ _story New year New friends_

 **Konoha's prison** **7:17am**

Former civilian council member Alfons Jugo looked up not hearing, but feeling someone just outside his cell.

The door opened and in walked one of the last people he'd have ever expected to come visit him in his imprisonment, elder council member Danzo Shimura.

The man's eyes light up and his mouth opened, but Danzo opened a hand cutting him off uncaring of whatever it was he was about to say.

He said nothing for a moment as observed the man in what was now his natural habitat. A small three by four cell with grey stone walls. A small sleeping cot which sat in the far right corner, a toliet sat on the left wall. There were no windows and instead of bars at the head of the cell there was a heavy metal door.

The man looked as if he'd been tearing at his already balding hair. His sleeping cot wasn't made, his eyes were wide and blood shot as if he hadn't slept in days, maybe even weeks. He stunk... badly. Aside from the smell of despair that permeated the air thickly he smelled of piss.

Danzo looked to the toliet and then back to the sleeping cot. So the man had been wetting himself in his sleep then. Likely the result of nightmares, or maybe now that he realized he wasn't getting out he couldn't be bothered to care.

"I'm here for information pertaining to a certain girl by the name of Anko Mitarashi. I'm aware that you possess the information I seek."

Jugo's eyes widened slightly at the mention of Anki's daughter. The girl had seemingly disappered over a year ago. He wondered what reason a man like Danzo would possibly have for bringing her up.

"Yes, what about her?" He asked willing to answer any questions the man had if he meant he got a chance to plead his case.

"Who exactly was her mother?" The bandaged shinobi questioned.

Jugo looked surprised by the question and wary of it as well. For a moment it seemed as if he might not answer then Danzo saw the small sliver of resolve within his eyes crumble.

"Her mother's name was Anki, and she was one of my best girls. She worked for me since she was about twelve and my guys picked her up off the street. Unlike most of my girl Anki was a real spunky one, she drew a lot of customers."

"I have no idea what it was about her but she had men and women playing top dollar just to see her. She got special treatment because of that, more freedoms than the other girls. We taught her how to read and count so she'd do a better job of screwing her clients out of more money than they already lavished on her just for a chance to visit."

"If all my other girls were nothing but slaves Anki was the Queen of slaves. The other girls admired her and when she was around they actually behaved better and worked harder, seeing her as something of a roll model. They thought if they could make Anki money then they could get Anki treatment."

"Anki was pretty much the perfect addition sexual side of my businesses." Jugo finished looking at the man questioningly.

"Go on." Danzo said knowing there to be more to the story.

Jugo looked a bit uncomfortable but he knew he really had no options so he continued.

"Unlike the other girls who were under monitor and had every second of their lives dictated for them Anki was free to do as she pleased when she wasn't entertaining guest. As long as one of my men escorted her around she was free to wander the slums."

"There was a fruit vendor who's goods she seemed particularly fond of but she'd always get into arguments with the man whenever she went to his stand. None of her escorts ever thought anything of it considering Anki was a fiery one."

"She'd argue with people just for the hell of it but she actually seemed to argue with this man out of enjoyment rather than a way to cure her boredom like she did with others. Her escorts paid it no mind and for a while everything continued as normal till one day one of my men caught her sneaking out in the night to go visit the man, naturally I couldn't have this."

"So you had the man killed then?" Danzo questioned remembering Hatsue telling him both Anko's parents were dead.

"I planned on it but Anki was too smart for her own good and she told me she'd stop seeing him if I let him live. Really I'd have rather just killed him but it was obvious she really loved the man so I couldn't just take his life. It would've likely killed her spunk and that's one of the things customers fond so intoxicating about her."

"So the man's still alive?" Danzo probed opening his eye to observe the man closely.

"I left him that way after ensuring my men taught him a lesson. If he wanted to see one of my girls, specifically Anki he had to pay top dollar like everyone else."

Danzo regarded the man for a moment wondering why he continuesly stopped short of giving him the full story.

"So if that was the last Anki saw of the man how exactly does Anko come into the picture?" He pressed wanting the full story of how Anko came into the picture.

Jugo frowned at the question, it was likely he was frowned at the memory of something he wasn't particularly fond of but he continued.

"By the time we found out Anki was sneaking out to see her secret lover she was already pregnant. Women under my services take special precautions to ensure that doesn't happen but like I said, the girl was too smart for her own good. She knew we'd discover what she was doing eventually and she'd decided she wanted a piece of the man to keep as something to remember him by."

"I take it that infuriated you quite the bit." Danzo commented watching the man's face.

"Finding out she'd been pregnant wasn't half as infuriating as finding out she'd ran away. For all I care she could've had the damn child if it'd have kept her happy, for all the money she brought in I would've brought her a damned horse if she wanted one."

Danzo didn't comment on his statement, he just waited for the man to continue.

"My men thought she'd likely ran away with the fruit vendor but Anki wouldn't endanger the man she loved so much and I doubt he ever even knew she'd been pregnant. I gave them specific instructions that when they found her she and her child were not to be harmed in anyway.

"Nearly six years later my men finally found her and much to their dismay not only was she completely unwilling to compromise but she even killed two of them with a kitchen knife before the last one killed her with a razor blade to defend himself."

Jugo's frown deepened as he recalled the story obviously still very unfond of the way things turned out.

"Anko was five at the time and just as her mother had she now belonged to me. She fought back against the man she'd just seen kill her mother but of course a five year old was no match for a grown man. She was brought to one of my brothels and much to my delight besides the exotic purple hair which she got from her father, she looked just like her mother and she held all the same fire, and practically even the same name."

"Unlike Anki however Anko was rebellious. While she was too young to start entertaining customers I attempted to win her over with special privileges and gifts as I'd done with her mother. The very moment I meant the girl I knew she was essentially just a young Anki. She'd be able to make me just as much money in the future if not more than her mother did."

"Anko however saw me as personally being responsible for her mother's death so of course she attempted to escape at every opportunity which much to my annoyance she was able to pull off rather frequently no matter who I assigned to watch her. I had the man who'd killed Anki skinned of course after realizing the girl would never willingly become what Anki had been."

"Eventually I gave up on attempting to win her over and decided when she was of child bearing age she'd give birth to the next Anki since she refused to become her. However because of my fondness for how well her mother had served me I allowed her far too much leeway and she still always managed to escape.

"The last time she'd escaped from me I decided I was tired of it and when I found her I would no longer be lenient with her. I would have my men break her legs and chain her to the wall in the basement of the brothel."

Danzo practically grimaced at the man's crude manner of containing a child his men were too incompetent to keep a proper eye on.

"And what of her father?" He questioned.

"Still somewhere selling fruit within the south slums of Konoha for all I know. The man's name was Kieta Mitarashi I believe."

Danzo nodded please to have finally peaced together the past of the puzzle that was Anko. He felt like he understood her better now that he knew about the first few years of her life.

When the only person in the world you trusted was murdered right before your eyes and the very criminal behind her death made a claim on your life it was only natural to grow mistrusting of others.

Her natural use of deception was likely something she'd honed into a tool of survival during the three years of her life she'd spent constantly running from and being found again by Jugo and his men.

Danzo turned to leave until he felt a hand on his arm causing him to turn and level the former council men with a deadly glare.

"That's all you came here for, to ask me questions about Anko's mother!?" The man said as his voice grew desperate seeing his only chance of receiving some kind of mercy or leeway about to exit his cell.

"I never said anything to give you the impression I'd come to speak with you about anything else." Danzo replied coldly eyeing the man in a way that said I suggest you remove your hand.

Jugo looked at the man clearly panicked not knowing how to react as he looked for the words to say. Something.. anything that would get the elder council men to considering helping him get out of this cell. He couldn't find anything he thought would do as much so after a moment he settled for a question instead knowing having it answered was the best he could possibly hope for.

"What was so important about Anko's past that you came to my cell to question me on it? How do you even know the girl when she disappered over a year ago?" Jugo said sounding achingly pathetic to the man's ears.

Danzo turned around deciding he might as well humor the man considering he'd practically done him a favor.

"Anko Mitarashi is now Anko Mitarashi Shimura. Current hieress to the Shimura clan and all it's assets. I feel I should thank you for your part in shaping the girl into someone of the perfect shinobi mindset. Thanks to you I now have a worthy hier and a tool that will serve me to a greater capacity than any others I've been able to procure so far." Danzo said watching the man's face quickly morph into a picture of shock.

"I'm actually curious as to what she would say if she knew I had a hand in getting you arrested. I wonder what she'd wany to say to you if she knew you were here." Danzo finished turning back around towards the cell door.

"Your hand in what?" Jugo gasped breathlessly feeling as if he must have heard the man wrong.

Danzo didn't bother replying, he knew the man had heard him. He simply opened the door and left leaving Jugo to think on his words, and by extension the consequences of his own actions. If he'd simply allowed the woman who concieved Anko to be Danzo would've never even meant the girl and even if he had she would have been of no interest to him.

It wasn't missed on Danzo that he'd unintentionally gotten some kind of retribution for the girl and her mother but that'd never been his intention and really he was more grateful to the man for his actions than anything.

He walked through the prison thinking on all that he'd learned when he was meant with a familiar pair of hazel eyes and a head of purple hair that belonged to a certain spunky shinobi hopeful wearing a formal purple kimono.

"Are you satisfied with what it was you came here for lord Danzo?" She asked not bothering to hide her curiousity.

He nodded continuing past her and Anko followed as he knew she would. He briefly wondered about locating and introducing her to her father but quickly dismissed it. The girls past was completely inconsequential to his plans for her now, he'd just been curious as to what circumstances lead to her being the way she was.

He'd been keeping the girl busy lately and he didn't plan on giving her more time off than he already afforded her later on during the day. Orochimaru had left the village a month ago apparently completing his research and needing to go back to his lab in the land of rice patties to complete the experiment.

Since then Anko had taken to accompanying him throughout most of the day. Learning everything she could from the man, even helping him with his NEE reports as a way for him to groom her into taking that over one day as well. While Danzo had many aspirations and ambitions he was not so foolish to think he could live forever.

During his time with Anko he imparted upon her his goals, his beliefs, and the intricacies of running his organization along with the Shimura clan. The girl was like a sponge that easily soaked up all of the information and stood ever eager waiting for more.

He also taught her things she hadn't learned from Orochimaru, such as moving in total silence, streaming chakra through weapons, certain wind style techniques known only to the Shimura, and how to project an aura of killing intent using her chakra.

The girl was definitely coming along rather nicely in he and Orochimaru's opinion. If her mother had wanted for her to be strong that was a goal Anko could say she'd already accomplished.

 **Monogahi compound** **7:23am**

 _"Shadow clone justu!"_

Around twenty clouds of smoke popped into existence on a certain section of the training field.

Inoha and Imari tightened their stances preparing for the blondes assualt.

The clones rushed forward and Imari rushed to the edge of the circle to meet them head on. She began slicing into the clones hoping the real Naruto wasn't present among them because she wasn't pulling any slashes.

Inoha stood on the other side of the circle dispatching clones with her taijustu wishing she could make personal armies as easily as Naruto did.

The real Naruto was deep underground relying on the memories of his clones to tell him when they'd all be properly in place. He'd actually decided to learn the hiding like a mole technique from Hamura after all and it proved invaluable at times like this.

He raised his hand into the seal of confrontation as the memory of his latest clone provided him with a visual of how close they were getting to the circle. He overloaded all the remaining clones with chakra which numbered about twelve if he'd been counting straight.

A number of loud booms could be heard even through the thick layer of concrete over top of his head. The ground shook slightly and he counted out twelve explosions pleased that he'd kept up before using the head hunter technique to locate the kunochi who were his opponents still standing inside the circle.

A hand rose from the ground grabbing on to Inoha's leg and pulling her beneath it's rocky surface. Imari tensed slightly realizing she was now alone in the circle and Naruto was underground.

She'd never been any good with blocking the headhunter technique. If he'd gotten Inoha chances were good he'd get her too. The ground rumbled and a few seconds later the surface to her left broke and Inoha rose out of the ground looking a bit winded.

"You escaped?" Imari questioned her sister in surprise.

"Earth style is one of my affinities after all although I gotta admit Naruto is scarily resourceful. He left a paper bomb for me once he realized there was no way he was taking me down with an earth style justu."

Imari grinned thinking that sounded just like Naruto.

His head broke the surface of the ground a moment later and he pulled himself out standing to observe the two.

"It's scary how fast you are underground Inoha chan."

Inoha smirked but didn't bother replying knowing the blonde was likely up to something.

He hurled a kunai towards Imari that burst into a clone as soon as it got within striking distance. Inoha was in front of her sister in an instant delivering a devestating right hook to the clones face when it exploded all of a sudden throwing her and Imari backwards just to the edge of the circle.

Naruto pulled out eight more kunai and tossed them directly into the air above them and they burst into shadow clones all of whom looked down at them with a grin holding kunai of their own.

They began hurling the weapons downwards towards the girls as fast as they could while the real Naruto began forming a set of hand seals.

 _"Earth style: Mobile core!"_ The ground underneath the girls feet began rising throwing them off balance and causing them to fall as they speed quickly towards the kunai.

Inoha slammed her palm into the ground errecting a thick clear dome if crystal around her and her sister protecting them from the metal assault. The Naruto clones all landed on the elevated slab of concrete and began forming more hand signs.

 _"Exploding crystal shrapnel dome!"_ Inoha mentally shouted seeing they'd been planning a group fire style attack.

The dome exploded shooting a number of sharp crystal spikes through all of the Naruto that surrounded it and Inoha began preforming the hand signs for the mobile core technique knowing they were exposed as long as the circle was elevated like this.

Naruto had already finished the seals for another justu though and he swung his head to the side exhaling a large crescent shaped gale of wind that cut straight through the base of the rock causing it to begin tumbling over.

Inoha leapt into the air and breathed a massive fireball towards the blonde with Imari right behind her launching a wind style justu intending to speed it up considering they were about to lose.

Two sealess clones popped into existence next to Naruto and they all released a sizeable bullet of water that rushed to meet the attack head on. A kunai came through the ensuing mist and Inoha switched places with it in the next instant holding a juuken strike to the blondes neck.

Naruto grinned fine with the outcome since he'd already achieved his goal. Inoha and Imari were both monsters when it came to offensive forms of shinobi combat but Nubutaka had said they could both use some training when it came to defense. So he'd drawn a circle around them and told them hold that position for twenty minutes and they'd win.

Naturally Naruto took that too mean if he couldn't get them out of the circle he'd lose, so he tried his hardest to move them, and when that didn't work he simply moved the circle in a way that'd make it impossible for them to stand in.

"It's errie how you learn so fast." Imari commented walking out of the dust cloud that come from the heavy slab of earth crashing into the ground.

"I have great teachers and sparing partners." He commented elicting a smile from the both of them.

"Not to mention a bunch of shadow clones." Inoha said ruffling his hair playfully.

"Good strategy Naruto." Nubutaka commented when they made their way back over towards where he was.

Naruto nodded happily and turned to observe the spare that was happening between the training fields other current occupants.

Sasuke and Hinata stood opposite each other both appearing to be winded as they waited for their opponent to make the next move. Seeing as Sasuke had a fire and lightning affinity and Hinata had a water and lightning affinity Nubutaka thought it natural they go up against each other in situational spares.

No kenjustu, no genjustu, no dojustu, no wire traps or paper bombs. Just fire style water style and taijustu. Fire verse's water and destroyer fist versus gentle fist, although admittedly they both could stand to work on improving their use of their clans respective taijustu styles.

Sasuke was much too impatient, he'd attempt to force openings much too often when that's what the style was made to do on it's own. If he just waited for the right moments the openings would create themselves, and Hinata proved much too gentle for the gentle fist.

It was painfully obvious to Nubutaka that the rigged stances and stiff jabbing attacks of the style didn't appeal to her much. Her stance was always too loose, her blows lacking the needed dedication behind them to be effective, as if she was always unsure. Nubutaka thought she'd benefit from another style entirely, but she was a Hyuga and the gentle fist was in her blood so she'd just need to modify how she used it.

Sasuke rushed towards the Hyuga leaping into a spinning jump kick she easily ducked under. Hinata moved forward launching a palm jab towards his shoulder which he batted away and attempted to counter with a punch.

Hinata leaned backwards allowing the punch to fly just inches over her face before pulling herself forward and launching two palm strikes towards the Uchiha. Sasuke batted both to the side and lauched two more punches which Hinata danced out of the way of, twirling and launching two fast palm strikes at his mid section.

Sasuke's breath hitched in his throat as his entire right side went numb and he flickered away and began forming one handed seals as soon as he reappeared, glad he requested Nubutaka teach them to him after witnessing just how useful they could be.

 _"Fire style: Burning stream!"_ He exhaled a continuous stream of fire that followed Hinata as she ran around the immediate area attempting to keep clear of the justu.

Hinata flickered and Sasuke cursed Naruto for teaching her that justu when she reappeared a short distance behind him and exhaled a water bullet he dodged just in the nick of time.

She was in front of him a moment later launching a flurry of palm strikes he couldn't keep up with while the right side of his body was practically immobile. Soon he found himself tripping over his own feet attempting to avoid her strikes and he fell knowing it was over when he felt her hand just underneath his chin.

 _"Tch, I've gotta stop leaving myself open after I attack."_ He thought only affirming what Nubutaka had been trying to tell him for months.

Hinata offered a hand and he took it not wanting another lesson about good sportsman ship drilled into him by Itachi any time soon.

"Good battle Sasuke kun." Hinata said bowing respectfully.

"Good win Hinata chan." Sasuke said mimicking her action.

They got back to the group and Nubutaka looked to Sasuke condescendingly as some of the feeling just began returning to his right side. He said nothing but Sasuke knew that man was disappointed he allowed himself to constantly be beaten by repeating the same mistake.

He told himself he'd be sure to learn from this defeat if any. Naruto was supposed to be his rival not the timid Hyuga girl but so far the blonde had proved himself to be leagues ahead of him, almost even on the level of the other shinobi hopefuls training under Nubutaka.

While he couldn't beat them in none situational spares he could at least make them sweat a bit and hold his own for a couple of minutes. Sasuke was nowhere near even touching anyone in a spare besides Hinata.

A part of him blamed the difference on his lack of a sharingan. Naruto could learn a new justu within a weeks time thanks to his shadow clones. Sasuke would be able to learn new justu instantly if he'd awakened his sharingan. He'd asked Itachi Shisui and even Izumi how they'd done it but it didn't seem like something any of them were fond of talking about although he couldn't understand why. If he'd awakened his sharingan he'd talk about it with pride.

The fact of the matter was that at the moment he simply wasn't strong enough to compete with anyone besides Hinata and his impatience coupled along with his desire to prove himself the superior opponent was the reason behind him losing a lot of spares. He needed to find a way to awaken his sharingan or he'd probably be stuck sparing with the shy Hyuga girl forever.

"Great battle guys! You two were awesome, especially you Hinata!" Naruto complimented.

"T-Thank you N-Naruto kun!" Hinata said looking as if she might fient from the amount of blood that was began rushing to her face in that moment.

Sasuke snorted. _"Just marry her already and get it out if the way with dobe."_

"Don't mention it! Maybe when you've improved your gentle fist technique a bit more we could have a taijustu battle? I'm not really so great in the taijustu department so my shadow clones have to compensate me for it." Naruto said rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"S-Sure Naruto Kun! I-I'd be honored!" Hinata said looking like the blondes request had made her day.

Sasuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He really hoped he'd never have a love stricken admirer fauning over him like that. (poor Sasuke)

Nubutaka prepared to tell them it was time to head to the academy when a bee masked anbu appeared in the field.

"Naruto! Imari and Inoha!" She called happily to the academy students who all began smiling brightly and racing foward to be the first to reach the woman they'd been dearly missing for the past seven months.

Much to their outrage Nubutaka reached her first enveloping the woman in a hug and shooting the three an evil smirk over his shoulder.

The three all frowned at the man and looked to each other prepared to launch a combination attack till he stepped aside, sly grin still in place.

The three spared the man another murderous look before rushing into to woman for hugs hoping her special assignment was over so they could start seeing her again.

"Are you finally finished up with that special assignment Nee chan?" Naruto asked hoping they could go get a bowl of ramen together soon.

"Not yet, I still don't know when I'll be finished either."

The children deflated looking a bit down trodden at her statement.

"But look at the bright side, by the time I am finished the assignment the ramen at Ichiraku's will taste much better because I haven't had it a while. That means we can stay even longer and order more bowls!" Hatsue said pinching the blondes cheek and causing him to grin.

"And I'll come stay the night at the compound with you girls so we can spare in the morning and have breakfast together like we used to." She said to Imari and Inoha causing them to smile in delight.

"How's Anko chan been doing?" She inquired curious as she'd seen the girl even less than she saw them lately.

"Anko chans been doing fine. She spends a lot more time around Otosan now, but other than that she's her usual dango crazy self." Imari commented earning a laugh from Hatsue.

Anko could really be crazy about dango sometimes..scratch that, all the time.

"That's good to hear, make sure you two tell her hi and give her a hug for me."

Both twins nodded happily reminding themselves to hug their oneesan to death for their Nee chan.

"I'd love to catch up with you guys some more but I've gotta meet my squad at the gate soon and you guys have somewhere to be too right?"

The group nodded not wanting to see her go but understanding that shinobi duties came first.

"Be safe Nee chan!" They remarked after giving her one last hug before she turned to leave.

"Don't worry guys I will. Good luck on your first day at the academy Naruto kun." She said preparing to leap into the tree's and make her way towards the gate when she was stopped.

Nubutaka lifted her mask slightly and stole a kiss before she could protest causing the group of young shinobi hopefuls to all frown and sigh in distgust. All of them besides Hinata who thought it was cute.

"See you later Hatsue chan." Nubutaka said hugging the woman for a moment and pulling away reluctantly.

"Right." She said smiling as she pulled her mask back down and held eye contact with the man for a moment before she leapt into the tree's flanking the compound and disappering in the direction towards the south gate.

 _I wonder if me and Naruto kun could ever have something like that."_ Hinata thought feeling her face warm at the thought.

 _"That was Hatsue Uchiha? Konoha's metal wire queen?"_ Sasuke thought wondering how they knew an Uchiha his father and the rest of the village held in high esteem.

More than that he was shocked to find out Nubutaka was dating the woman and he'd never even know until just that moment. He'd have to ask Naruto about it later.

"Okay guys, time to get headed towards the academy. Who wants to travel in shadow?" Nubutaka inquired knowing none of them besides Imari had gotten over how cool it was to basically teleport using shadows.

He was unsurprised when all hands went into the air, it brought a grin to his face.

 **Konoha ninja academy** **7:27am**

Nubutaka and his group rose from the shadows of a building beside the academy surprising a few of those gathered and waiting for the doors to open who took notice of their arrival.

Inoha and Imari noticed a few of their friends from last year and moved to greet them introducing Naruto as their little brother. It seemed to them that their friends seemed surprised they knew the blonde and even nervous with his presence which puzzled them.

Sasuke stood off to the side by himself walking to stand under the shade of a tree and noticing a group of girls had begun staring at him.

 _"Tch, what are they looking at."_ The Uchiha thought more than grateful he got to enroll in the academy a year early but feeling annoyed with the attention he was receiving already.

Nubutaka noticed both Neji and Izumi among the crowd and moved to greet them.

"Nice to see you two skipping out on our morning sessions now that the school year is starting again." He commented causing them both to turn and look at him.

Neji wore the same cream colored jacket and brown shinobi shorts with brown sandals and as always he had bandages wrapped around his arms. Izumi wore a sleeveless shirt of dark purple with a high collar and the Uchiha crest on the back, black shinobi pants with black sandals. Nubutaka didn't she Iilha on her back so he figured she'd left her home.

"Apologies sensei, this is my last year at the academy so I thought to arrive early on the first day as a way to get myself quickly prepared for the year, seeing as a number of changes have been made since the last." Neji commented as Izumi nodded her head basically saying she'd had the same idea.

"It's your last year Neji? I thought you were in your second year here?" Nubutaka said questioning himself on Neji's age again.

"Apparently due to some new rating system used for academy students I'm advanced enough to skip my second year and advance right to my final." He remarked confused as he'd thought Nubutaka had something to do with it.

 _"I guess these two are advanced enough to be genin but that's still surprising. I wonder who did the rating pool."_

"So are you two going to take any of the extra curricular classes the academy will be offering this year?"

"I plan on taking stealth and infiltration classes and tracking and evasion. I wanted to maybe sign up for sensory nin classes as well but I think that may be putting too much on my plate." Izumi answered still unsure about the last one.

"I'll be taking weapons training classes, and tracking and evasion as well." Neji supplied.

"I'm sure you could manage Izumi and great thinking Neji, I'm sure you'd make an excellent tracker nin. A Hyuga weapon specialist would be pretty unusual though." Nubutaka said grinning slyly.

"Well a Hyuga kenjustu master would be the same but that's not stopping me from practicing with a sword either is it?" Neji said returning the grin.

"Touche...either way I'm sure you two will accomplish whatever it is you set your minds to. Be sure to let me know if you guys need help with anything else though."

"Harder kenjustu training." They both commented at the same time causing him to grin again.

"You guys want me to step up the kenjustu training regimen?" He asked raising an eyebrow.

Both third year academy students nodded without hesitation.

"Count on it, I'll be sure to find something that suits both your levels of skills."

 **Konoha academy 8:03**

Naruto and his new classmates all filed inside the room that'd be their classroom from now on until next year when they'd be moved to one of the classrooms for second years.

He was pleased to see both Hinata and Sasuke were in a class along with him, Hinata sat directly in front of him and Sasuke sat in the chair to his left. He looked around the room grinning as he saw another familiar face entering the classroom looking like they'd much rather be somewhere else at the moment.

"Yo, Shikamaru!" Naruto called to the Nara who looked up and developed a smile as he made his way to the blondes row at the back of the class and into the seat next to him.

"Surprised I ended up in a class with both you and Sasuke. That really sucks ya know, I was kind of expecting to be the top male student to graduate from my generation without really doing anything."

"At least now you know you don't stand a chance while I'm here. You can still come in over Sasuke though." Naruto said with a grin causing Sasuke to turn and glare at him coldly.

"Dream on dobe. Top male graduate of our class is gonna be me and you two are kidding yourselves if you think otherwise."

"Pfft." The boy sitting on Sasuke's left sounded as if he found his words far-fetched.

Sasuke and the others turned around observing the boy who wore a grey hoodie with black fur and dark pants. He had two red markings that ran down his face and thinned as they got lower. The markings if not the two small black slits he had for eyes were enough to identify him as an Inuzuka.

"You think otherwise dog boy?" Sasuke questioned not liking that condescending sound he'd just made.

"Better watch that smart ass tone of yours Uchiha or I'll show you why your clan ain't as great as you might think it is." The boy threatened before his face developed a smirk.

"My name's Kiba Inuzuka, son of Konoha's blood wolf Shumi Inuzuka and I'm gonna be top dog among this years males, got that?!"

"All I got was a headache from you yelling in my ear and that rank smelling breath of yours. The Inuzuka don't have toothpaste in that compound of yours dog breath?"

Kiba began to growl and a bundle of white fur made it's way up through the inside of his hoodie, poking it's head out to growl at the target of it's masters errie.

"Calm down Kiba, that's just how Sasuke makes friends." Shikamaru said hoping not to have to break up a fight on his first day at the academy.

"Like hell I'd ever be friends with an emo fag like him!"

Naruto burst into a fit of laughter holding his sides and squirming around in his seat as he tried against all odds to hold in his laughter at the Inuzuka's insult.

"You kiss your mother with that mouth dog breath?"

"Quit calling me dog breath!" Kiba said standing up and slamming his hand against the table angrily.

"You ladies need to calm down." A boy Naruto assumed to be an Aburame judging from his long jacket and sun glasses, said from his seat to the right of Hinata.

Much to the boys errie though no one seemed to acknowledge his comment, besides Naruto who only proceeded to laugh harder, and Hinata who looked at him curiously.

Hinata couldn't help but smile at the blondes laughter from the seat in front of him. She didn't want the boys to start fighting and hurt each other but Naruto sounded like he was having fun and she liked the sound of his laugh.

"I'll stop calling you dog breath when you start brushing your teeth." Sasuke commented evenly infuriating the Inuzuka more.

"Seriously guys, I can't feel my ribs!" Naruto said between laughs causing Hinata to chuckle a bit more.

"Hey guys." Shikamaru called interrupting the argument that was sure to continue until someone did something to stop it.

"What!?" Kiba questioned furiously while Sasuke did the same in a tone that only held annoyance.

"Allow me to introduce you all to my friend, Choji Akamichi, son of Choza Akamichi." Shikamaru said gesturing from his seat beside Naruto to a burly boy with a bag of chips wearing a green jacket over a shirt bearing the Akamichi symbol. He now occupied the last seat on the row where they all were sitting.

Kiba began laughing at the boy for reasons that weren't readily apparent to everyone else who knew exactly who the Akamichi clan were.

"Man that guys out of shape! How are you supposed to be a ninja if you can't move like one!"

 _"Uh-oh."_ Shikamaru thought knowing Choji well enough to know he wouldn't take kindly to Kiba's complement.

The boy stopped eating his potato chips and shot Kiba a murderous glare that caused the Inuzuka's grin to fade as he grew a bit nervous.

"You making fun of my weight over there dog breath?" He growled shooting to his feet.

"Who the hell you calling dog breath!?" Kiba said jumping out of his chair again tired of hearing that insult.

"Calm down guys, it's the first day! You guys really wanna go home explaining why you got into trouble on your very first day at the academy?" Shikamaru said being the voice of reason.

A bit of the color drained from Kiba's face when he thought of the punishment his mother would visit upon him for getting in trouble on his first day and he sat back down. Choji seeing the Inuzuka back down begrudgingly reclaimed his seat as well, diving right back into his bag of chips.

Naruto grinned looking at both young clan hiers thinking his time at the academy might be more enjoyable than he'd originally thought. Just then he looked up and saw a girl with pink hair and vibrant green eyes enter the classroom and he was stricken.

He couldn't recall ever seeing someone that pretty before and he knew immediately he wanted to make the girl his girlfriend.

She looked up towards the back row and quickly turned away blushing slightly as she moved to go sit to the left of Hinata, right in front of Sasuke. Naruto thought that that look might have been for him but Sasuke frowned as he knew it'd been for him.

He didn't have time for disty fan girls, he was here to become a shinobi and learn anything that could help him on his quest to surpass Itachi.

A minute later another girl came in, this one with blonde hair and blue eyes, and she did the same thing moving to sit in front of Kiba right to the left of Sakura who she apparently had some kind of rivalry with.

Sasuke sighed and began massaging his temple. He might end up enjoying his time at the academy even less than he'd originally thought.

 **Konoha academy 8:06am**

Imari Inoha Neji and Izumi were all surprised and pleased to see they'd be sharing a class this year.

Apparently now year two students and above would be placed in classes depending on their skill and their academic achievements. It'd serve as motivation for the academies less gifted shinobi hopefuls to improve themselves, and for the gifted one's to ensure they didn't slack off least they lose their spot in the advanced class.

Once Imari and Inoha saw Izumi and Neji enter the class they knew without a doubt they'd been placed in the advanced group.

Izumi looked up and smiled at the grinning girls walking up the stairs to sit between the two when Inoha moved over a seat to make room for her. Neji simply looked up at the two surprised to see them here. Just how many students were advanced enough to get bumped up a year, how many students in the class now really belonged in this year?

Neji nodded towards them and moved to sit on the left side of the class in the front row.

He heard a shurieken whistling towards him and quickly moved his head to the side shocked as surely enough a shurieken planted itself in his desk.

He turned around shooting a glare towards the back of the classroom and Izumi and Imari smiled at him sheepishly pointing towards a glaring Inoha.

Neji's eyes narrowed wondering what the heck she'd done that for before he turned back around and was forced to move his head to the side again as another shurieken flew past him landing right next to the first one in his desk.

A number of students were looking at the Hyuga with wide eyes. Someone had already made two assassination attempts on him and he wasn't even a genin yet and worse, they were from his own village.

Neji turned around glaring at Inoha as if to ask 'what is your problem?' but the girl said nothing. She merly crossed her arms and returned the glare. Neji turned back around discreetly activating his byakugan and waiting as he tilted his head to the side slightly to keep Inoha out of his blind spot.

He didn't have to wait long as he saw the girls arm move seconds after he turned around. He turned and knocked the ninja star out of the air and tossed the kunai towards his assault feeling his aggravation get the better of him.

With skills that were very impressive for a shinobi trainie Imari reached over Izumi and grabbed the kunai out of the air by it's handle and sitting it on Inoha's desk.

"I'm not doing that for you again sis." The Shimura said sitting back down.

Inoha knew her sister was lying though, she knew she'd do it in the first place that's why she hadn't bothered blocking it. She'd do it again if Neji threw another one, but then she'd get mad Inoha wasn't blocking them herself.

 _"I hardly even saw her move. Training with Shisui must have done wonders for her speed and reaction time."_ Izumi thought wondering if Imari had been holding back her true speed in spares for past few months.

Neji and Inoha continued to glare at one another till Neji approached their location at the back of the classroom and the two were having a stare doen within spitting distance of one another.

"What's your problem?" Neji asked through gritted teeth.

"I should ask you the same thing." Inoha replied, venom lacing her voice.

"I'm not the one who was throwing shurieken at the back of the head of one of my classmates." Neji practically growled voice just above a whisper.

"It's not like I didn't know you'd dodge them. If I was trying to hurt you I'd have thrown more, and-" Inoha said raising her voice on the last word, slamming her hands on the desk and standing to glare daggers at Neji.

"I'm not the one who walked into the classroom and practically ignored his friends!"

Neji's eyes widened as his glare became a scowl.

"I greeted you three with a nod before I even moved to take my seat!"

"Well why are you deciding to sit so far away as if you don't know who we are! Are you really our friend or just a sparing partner!?"

"This is a place were we come to learn, not socialize and hang with friends!" Neji replied seeing all the classrooms occupants gazing towards them through his still active byakugan.

Inoha didn't reply, she sat down and recrossed her arms and gazed forward still just as angry as before seemingly looking past or right through Neji as if he wasn't right in front of her.

The Hyuga pinched the bridge of his nose before deactivating his byakugan and walking back towards his seat removing the shurieken out of his desk. Inoha contemplated returned his kunai to him by hurling it at the back of his head but he turned around and began walking back towards them.

He pulled out the chair to the left of Inoha appearing to be just as mad as she was before depositing the shurieken on her desk and sitting down.

Inoha's anger disappered slowly as she looked at him with a puzzled expression. Neji tried his hardest to just ignore her and keep his gaze forward on the front of the classroom.

Inoha picked his kunai up off her desk and placed it on his before smiling and looking a bit remorseful at her actions.

"Sorry I might have tried to killed you." She apologized.

"So you were trying to kill me?" Neji asked turning towards her with a questioning frown.

"Maybe, but if it makes you feel better I'm glad you survived."

Neji stared at her after that comment wondering what in the world gave her the audacity.

Unable to help himself he smirked and snickered slightly turning back towards the front of the room. He wondered if all females were as crazy as the Shimura beside him. Inoha grinned glad niether of them were upset any longer, she might have overreacted she figured.

Imari frowned at Inoha and made a mental note to chew into her about that later. She couldn't run around starting fights with deadly weapons because she was mad, as Shimura they were expected to show a certain level of professionalism.

Izumi wondered how throwing shurieken at Itachi would work out whenever he decided he wanted to ignore her, but then again she didn't want to take a chance on hurting her best friend so she began thinking about none deadly ninja tools instead, like a smoke bomb or something.

The rest of the class wondered what exactly just happened. Most of them reminded themselves to keep an eye on the group of four in the back of the classroom.

The Uchiha, The Hyuga, and The Shimura.

 **Konoha academy** **10:46**

Naruto and the rest of the kids watched as two boys went up against one another throwing sloppy well telegraphed punches at one another.

In the Uzumaki's mind the two definitely had enough heart but they were both severely lacking in training. Niether of them knew how to capitalize on openings, create weaknesses in their opponents defense's or how to attack without leaving themselves open. Their foot work was drastically off, practically none existence for that matter, and there was no method to how either of them fought.

No planning or strategy, niether of them appeared to have any combative instincts what so ever. To Sasuke and Kiba it was an achingly pathetic display of an aptitude, or lack thereof for physical combat.

Naruto figured the only reason the academy was holding sparing sessions on the first day for rookies was so that their teacher could see where they stood.

Soon the battle ended when one of the boys finally managed to knock the other down and their teacher, a shinobi instructor by the name of Iruka wrote down a few notes before looking up and calling another sst of names.

"Choji Akamichi and Kiba Inuzuka."

Choji began grinning evilly as he made his way to the circle that served as the ring cracking his knuckles on the say. Kiba gulped knowing he couldn't use his claws for this battle but he wouldn't let that scare him, he was nervous but he was also getting excited.

Kiba made his way to the arena and stop opposite of Choji while Iruka repeated the rules for them ensuring both fighters were ready and blowing the whistle that signified the start.

Kiba rushed towards Choji and the Akamichi squared his feet grabbing Kiba by the hoodie and lifting him up and throwing him to the ground with a surprising amount of strength.

"W-What the hell was that!? You cheated fatso!" Kiba said standing up and pointing and accusatory finger.

"Who're you calling fatso dog breath!"

"You! You fat piece of sh-"

The entire assembly winced as their sensei bonked Kiba so hard over the head dome of them began to develop headaches from the sight.

"Watch your language Kiba! That's no way for a respectable shinobi to behave themselves! 'Apologise to your classmate now!" The man ordered.

"No way! I didn't-"

Kiba froze under the man's glare and begrudgingly turned to Choji bowing and saying an apology under his breath. Iruka decided he would let it pass for now and told the boys they could both reclaim their spots with the rest of the class after telling kiba his own arrogance was what'd really beaten him.

Sasuke could relate to ebut he knew he'd of never went out as easy as the dog breathed Inuzuka did.

"Next up, Sasuke Uchiha and ShikamaruPRESENTmaru groaned and reluctantly made his way to the ring to stand opposite of Sasuke who smirked at him confidently.

 _"Guy looks pretty frikken confident."_ He grimaced looking at the Uchiha.

Iruka blew his whistle and Sasuke rushed towards his opponent who stood still with his hands in his pocket. Sasuke frowned at the Nara's overconfidence and decided he'd end their match as soon as possible.

He got within the Nara's face and reared his hand back and Shikamaru smirked knowing the Uchiha was too close to stop himself at this point and that he'd practically threw all his focus away. He stepped towards the side and stuck his foot out tripping Sasuke and sending the Uchiha tumbling to the ground without ever taking his hands out of his pockets.

 _"Didn't expect Shisui Itachi and Hamura's constant insistence that catching people off guard using the lower half of their body would actually prove so fruitful."_

 **FLASHBACK**

Shikamaru groaned for what was probably the fifth time in the past hour. Here he was standing in a training field at the ass crack of dawn with two overly hyper genin.

How Shisui and Hamura could look so cheerful and full of life this early in the morning was beyond him.

"Can I just get five more minutes before we get this started?"

Shisui laughed at his question shooting the boy a disapproving look from behind his grin.

"No way, your father said we're supposed to include you in our morning excersizes and we always start this early."

"My dad won't notice if you guys don't follow through with his wishes. I don't know why that jerks insisting I train so much anyway. He doesn't even wake up this early."

"Doesn't matter bro, we agreed so here you are."

Shikamaru sighed wondering why the genin were agreeing with their fathers decision to torture him.

"You should start stretching because you'll definitely wanna be limber for this. We're gonna start off with laps around the training field, then we'll be working on our cores." Hamura said stretching as he regarded Shikamaru.

Shikamaru groaned and his eyes widened as he hit the ground as his legs were sweeped out from underneath him.

He stood up shooting a glare at the third member of their group wondering what the hell that'd been for.

"Part of your training with us is combat readiness, reflexes and awareness." Itachi said explaining why he'd tripped him.

"Great, as if I wasn't fond of this little arrangement of ours already." Shikamaru said sarcastically as he stood back up.

"Be sure to watch your legs because whenever you're off guard one of us will be sure to let you know." Shisui said giving him fair warning.

"You'd actually be surprised how often people keep their lower halfs unguarded. Never forget that if you want to catch someone off guard wait until their unfocused and go for the legs." Hamura added finishing his round of stretches.

"So I take it that's what you guys are planning on doing throughout the duration of our little morning routines?" Shikamaru asked cursing his father's name over a thousand times in his head.

The genin didn't reply they all simply smiled and told Shikamaru to prepare himself for their run.

Needless to say at the end of their round of excersizes his legs and his ankles hurt for more than one reason.

 **PRESENT**

The crowd of young first years all looked at Shikamaru and wondered why he'd started frowning and spacing out all of a sudden.

Sasuke mad his way to hos feet and cursed himself again for repeating the same mistake he frequently made during his training sessions at the Monogahi compound.

He stood and bowed respectfully to Shikamaru who mimicked his action. Naruto thought to himself it was a good thing Itachi had scolded him on his unsportsman like conduct at the compound a while ago or Sasuke might have reacted in a way similar to Kiba.

Most of the class seemed surprised having expected the Uchiha to win and a number of them looked at Shikamaru approvingly while some of the girls looked upset he'd actually beaten Sasuke.

Naruto's name was called a few matches later and he'd knocked his opponent down in a manner similar to how Shikamaru had done. The Aburame who's name he'd figured out was Shino had beaten his opponent by catching him arm in a lock and forcing him to submit.

The pink haired girl who'd made Naruto's heart flutter had won her match, apparently she was a Haruno. One of the clans who next to the Senju, the Sarutobi, and the Shimura had participated so much in the last wars their clans practically had no members left.

The Haruno had been a pretty well respected clan but in recent years since their were hardly any of them left they were hardly remembered.

It's not like they had a hand in founding Konoha like the Senju, a world wide reputation as ninjustu masters like the Sarutobi, or were ruthlessly effective and devestatingly brutal on the battlefield like the Shimura.

The Haruno were genjustu masters but considering the clans pacifist views and beliefs they'd always only been an after thought when compared with the ruthlessly cold and effective ocular genjustu masters that were the Uchiha.

She'd looked towards Sasuke hoping she'd impressed him after her match and Naruto got slightly jealous but didn't hold it against his friend. Winning without any competition was no fun to the blonde anyway.

The blonde girl who was her rival went next and devestated her opponent with a ruthless sixteen hit combo impressing everyone with her skill in taijustu. After winning her match she did the same as Sakura causing Sasuke to sigh and pinch the bridge of his nose, as if his lose wasn't painful enough.

Hinata's name was finally called and unsurprisingly her opponent forfeited the match the moment they realized they'd be fighting a Hyuga. Hinata was glad as she really didn't want to fight but mostly everyone else was disappointed as they'd been looking forward to her battle.

Iruka began pairing the winners of each match off against each other. At the end of the session Naruto ended up beating Shikamaru although just barely as the Nara was really too good at detecting and acting upon weaknesses in his legs, but Naruto had been stronger and faster.

Hinata came out on top of the girls group of course and Iruka congratulated them both before remarking that they'd be going up against each other next.

 **Authors note**

 **I just might update a bonus chapter for fifteen that'll feature Shikono's spare against Itachi Hamura and Shisui where they enacted plan they used in the story against Gray and failed against their sensei. If I do upload a bonus chapter there would be a lot more I add pertaining to the six months that have passed though. It'd be a moderately long chapter compared to the last two which are short compared to my usual, I don't really know yet.**

 _Dialogue_

 **Kasuf:** It's 5:00am Shy, what to you want?

 **Shy:** I need your opinion on this chapter.

 **Kasuf:** You gotta be frikken kidding me! Did you even go to sleep?

 **Shy:** You know I only sleep during the day.

 **Kasuf:** And you know I have somewhere to be in three hours! Go to sleep!

 **Shy:** Come oonnn! I just want a statement for this chapter. I promise I'll leave you alone and go to bed afterwards!

 **Kasuf:** It's pretty good, now go to sleep!

 **Shy:** But you didn't even read it!

 **Kasuf:** They're always good Shy. Now go to sleep!

 **Shy: :l** Grrrr!

 **Shy:** Kabir!

 **Kabir:** Oh my goodness Khajul it's five in the frikken morning. If this isn't important you can forget about me buying a bunch of soda, junk food and midnight snacks for you later.

 **Shy:** Uhhm...

 **Kabir:** What is it?

 **Shy:** Nevermind Kabir, I'll just go to sleep now. :(

 **Kabir:** Good choice.

 **Shy:** _Frikken jerks!_


	21. Chapter 15 Part 3

**Hinata's** **already head over heels for Naruto thanks to the kindness he's been showing her since they've meant. They'll be a good reason why he falls for her later in the story.**

 **I'm damn sure not gonna pull some stupid _" oh I love you all of a sudden thanks to a scarf and some memories" _asspull like Kishimoto did with Naruto falling for Hinata in the last**. **That** **was the dumbest crap ever, and a total dissapointment.** **You** **had people waiting for over five hundred episodes for the NaruHina ship to sail, and when we finally get there there's no build up or anything. It just happens out of the blue. Don't get me wrong, I think the last was a good movie but how Naruto develops feelings for Hinata was the biggest asspull I've ever seen, and I've watched Dragonball for years now!**

 **9K Words**

 _Misconception and Correction_

 **Konoha academy 11:13am**

"Oh, I guess we'll be getting that taijustu match even sooner than we thought Hinata." Naruto said stepping inside the circle and looking at the now nervous Hyuga.

Hinata nodded her head and moved to stand opposite Naruto in the arena. She did her best to calm her nerves and keep herself from trembling but she was unable to do the later and she wasn't fully successful with the first.

They both got into a fighting stance and Iruka signaled the start of their match. Both first years rushed forward meeting each other in the middle of the sparing circle.

Naruto threw a right hook which Hinata dodged and countered with a left palm strike, Naruto knocked away her attack with an elbow and quickly threw another right hook towards the Hyuga.

Hinata knocked his hand away and moved her other arm forward launching a palm strike towards his chest. Naruto spun and Hinata leapt backwards avoiding the sweap, Naruto quickly rushed back towards her and began throwing a number of punches.

Hinata blocked most of them and deflected the others attempting to put some more space between her and the blonde who wasn't giving her a chance to counter but Naruto was having none of it.

She deflected his next attack and did something completely alien to the Hyuga's taijustu style. She spun into a circle and brought a leg around towards Naruto's head. He caught her by the ankle and observed the Hyuga with a delighted grin.

Hinata practically jumped as he did so. He looked to be enjoying himself which surprised her, she thought he'd probably see her as boring in a spar. Plus he was still holding her ankle as he grinned and she blushed slightly as she realized his hands were very warm.

If he really thought her a good enough opponent she'd do her best not to dissapoint. She bent her other leg and jumped off the ground kicking at him with the other, Naruto released her ankle and blocked the kick.

Hinata caught herself with her hands and quickly pushed off the ground and began charging Naruto with renewed vigor and a slight confidence boost. If she was good enough to challenge him maybe she was good enough to beat him.

She began attacking with a flurry of palm strikes not noticing in her excitement she'd began using the gentle fist in the wrong way.

Naruto had seen the nervousness drain from her face to be replaced with determination. He liked this side of Hinata, the Hyuga girl had too much potiental to be so unsure of herself all the time. That frown of determination she wore suited her much more than the nervous look she wore when she'd first stepped into the ring.

He hadn't known there'd been more than one style of the gentle fist either but this one suited Hinata much better in his opinion, it was more fluid in is movements, more flexible.

She threw another palm strike which he deflected and she spun launching two more which he dodged. She swung another palm strike towards him which he batted to the side and she launched another forcing him backwards before he could counter.

She moved back into arms reach and launched two pa jabs which he deftly weaved, she was spun again and Naruto backed out of the way of her next strike. She brought her arm forward launching another palm strike which he blocked, he threw a quick jab attempting to throw her off but she meant his jab with a palm strike and launched another which nearly managed to hit him.

She spun towards the ground and Naruto jumped over her sweep and she spun coming back up and launching a powerful strike towards the blondes stomach which he blocked before wincing at the strength behind the attack.

The attack pushed him back a bit and he rubbed the arm he'd blocked it with as Hinata adjusted her stance and observed him with the same look of determination.

 _"Hinata chan should fight like this more often."_ He thought knowing she was usually just a bundle of nerves whenever she fought.

He grinned and readjusted his stance as he'd need all his taijustu skill to win this.

The two rushed forward to meet each other and Naruto leapt into a spinning jump kick which Hinata ducked underneath of, she spun launching two palm jabs at him in a vertical swing.

Naruto tried to duck and launch himself backwards but he'd just landed and one of Hinata's fingers still managed to catch his side. He felt one of the muscles below his shoulder go numb and he looked at Hinata in surprise.

She didn't let up, she took a step forward and threw a palm jab towards the shoulder on his week side. He swatted her hand away and moved to launch a counter, her palm connected with his fist and he began throwing a number of quick jabs at her but every punch was meant with one of her palms.

Hinata seeing they were at a stalemate began launching a palm strike for every punch she blocked but Naruto began knocking her strikes aside with his elbows and the stalemate between the two continued.

Seeing this was going nowhere Naruto spun under her next strike and his foot shot out attempting to sweep Hinata's left leg from under her. She jumped over the sweep and raised her arms into an X as Naruto rose and connecting a solid hook into her guard.

Hinata's eyes widened as both her arms began to hurt from the punch and she realized just how much strength the blonde was packing.

She leapt backwards and jumped forward swinging at Naruto with a flurry of palm jabs he was hard pressed to avoid.

He didn't think she was even aware of her improvision concerning the gentle fist but it was really much better for her than the standard version.

Instead of launching a flurry of forward jabs and strikes she was launching a number of vertical and horizontal attacks that proved more harder to keep up with as every motion created another attack.

He'd attempt to throw a punch but she'd just redirect one of her jabs towards his wrist and he'd pull it back knowing he needed both his hands if he wanted to win this. He'd attempt to create some distance but she'd always rush forward before he had the time necessary to think clearly enough to find a solution.

He could continuesly avoid and block her attacks but eventually one of them would tire out. While he figured it'd be her to tire out sooner he'd rather win the fight on his own terms. If he had the use of his shadow clones he could win this but as far as pure taijustu was concerned she had him out matched. At least when she was fighting with confidence and determination she did.

He grinned and figured she'd end up winning this spare and there was nothing he could do about it besides waiting till she tired out, which he didn't want to do. He leapt backwards deciding he'd try a few unorthodoxed tactics that were a part of Imari and Inoha's regular fighting styles.

She rushed forward like he thought she would and Naruto literally threw himself to the ground taking a swipe at her legs. Hinata jumped backwards surprised at the tactic and Naruto rushed towards her before she could re-enter her stance.

He jumped into the air above her and spun forcing her backwards to avoid his punch and kick. She ran forward and he spun into his usual sweep but she'd expected as much and stopped just outside of his legs range.

Much to her surprise though she wasn't the only one who could predict her opponents actions and reactions and he leapt into a twirling back flip and brung his foot down towards her head. She quickly back pedaled wondering how his style suddenly became so different, and so unpredictable.

Naruto landed on his feet and cartwheeled into a front flip bringing an axe kick down onto a surprised Hinata's guard.

 _"That's Inoha's technique, he's been using parts of her and Imari's style. As long as he's fighting like this and keeping me away I won't be able to land a solid hit."_ She realized.

Naruto pushed down on her guard causing her legs to buckle and launched himself a short distance away.

Hinata's arms began screaming at her for rest. Blocking the powerful blondes strikes was definitely physically taxing and she knew she needed to end this fast if she wanted to win.

Naruto was actually surprised he could replicate some of Imari and Inoha's techniques so easily. He was more surprised that they actually seemed to be working on the Hyuga and he grinned wondering how proud they'd be if he won this spare using things he learned from watching them fight.

Hinata narrowed her eyes at his grin and told herself she wouldn't lose after she'd come so far, if Naruto could replicate other people's techniques to throw her off her game than she could too.

She ran towards him and launched another palm strike which Naruto prepared to step out of the way of until she balled her hand into a fist and redirected it a bit punching him hard in a jaw and causing him to stumble backwards a bit.

Naruto didn't have the time to get over his shock as she was upon him again launching a number of punches and palm strikes she alternated between as a way to make her moves harder to defend against. He noticed pretty quickly that she was using his style of fighting which wasn't at all any form of taijustu.

It was just what he'd picked up on through his number of experiences street fighting. It had no discernable flow or patern to it, it was completely random which only made it more unpredictable. It puzzled him that she'd been able to pick up on his style which wasn't even really a style.

 _"Hinata must really pay a lot of attention to my spares."_ He thought feeling somewhat honored someone actually paid that much attention to him.

While he was really appreciative the girl found him interesting enough to observe him to that extent during his battles her new tactics were pretty worrying. He was trying to create distance but he was already near the edge of the circle and to step back any further would basically be the same as giving her the win.

He needed distance and a bit of time to think to replicate Inoha and Imari's styles, they weren't something he was familiar with to the point that he could just do it on the fly. Hinata however was replicating his with ease demonstrating a great familiarity with something it should practically be impossible for someone to memorize.

He grinned seeing Hinata a bit differently than he had before. The only people he paid that much attention to were the people he looked up to and wanted to learn from like Shisui, Hamura, Inoha Imari and the others.

Hinata must look up to or admire him in some way he figured. He didn't think he was really worthy of such reverence but he really appreciated it none the less. It meant she didn't only see him as a potiental sparing partner but she saw him as someone worth admiring in a sense.

She acknowledged him for who he was, she was one of only a handful of people who'd actually decided to look deep enough to see. There was a strong chance the two could be good friends rather than just friendly sparing partners he decided.

Hinata knew from the look in Naruto's eyes he was thinking about something but she didn't bother concerning herself with what. In that moment her main focus, her only focus was getting the win. Naruto was near the edge of the circle, all she had to do was get one foot outside it.

The blonde stepped forward blocking another one of her attacks and surprising her as he'd taken a palm jab to the shoulder when he didn't need to, there was no way he'd be able to use that arm for the remaining duration of their spare.

He was now in her personal space though and he moved his left foot behind her right leg and pulled it backwards causing her to lose her balance as she quickly tried to bring her foot back down, but he pushed her backwards with his remaining arm and Hinata's eyes went wide at the knowledge that she was about to lose.

She used her right leg to kick him hard in the chest as she was falling pushing him backwards right before she hit the ground.

The entire assembly of students was completely silent as they stared on in amazement at the taijustu skills their fellow first years had just shown. Pretty soon all eyes turned towards their surprised looking sensei waiting for the man who was just as shocked as they were to announce the winner.

Iruka himself couldn't really say who'd won, something like this had never happened before during his time at the academy or his time instructing at it. Naruto had tripped Hinata causing her to fall but she'd kicked him pushing him out if the arena. As far as he could tell the very moment her back har touched the ground was the same moment Naruto had stepped out of the arena.

"Uh...the result of this match has been a draw! Congratulations Naruto and Hinata, both of you showed some amazing hand to hand combat abilities today." Iruka congratulated still surprised at the preformance of his new students.

The crowd of first years all broke out into cheers and conversation about the crazy battle they'd just witnessed.

Hinata smiled and moved to stand up when an excited looking Naruto offered her a hand and a cheerful grin.

"That was amazing Hinata chan! I can't believe you were able to replicate my street fighting! You must really watch me a lot during my battles?"

Hinata's face grew cheery red as she hurriedly shuffled to her feet shaking her head fervently and attempting to look anywhere but at the blonde as she spoke.

"W-W-W-Well I-I guess y-you could day that N-Naruto Kun..I-"

"It's okay Hinata." Naruto said placing a hand on her shoulder and interrupting her. "I like watching the shinobi I admire or think would make a good challenge for me too. Really I'm honored you payed such close attention to me during my fights."

"I gotta keep an eye on you from now on! You're really something else!"

Hinata didn't know how to reply. She felt her face warm more as she got butterflies in her stomach at both the blondes statements. She felt grateful when their teacher said it was time to head back inside and Naruto shot her another grin and a thumbs up before walking away.

She'd been getting light headed with him standing there smiling at her like she'd made his day. Much to her relief she could breath again now.

 **Konoha academy 11:36am**

Imari and Inoha sat in the academies mess hall eating lunch with their friends from last year most of whom hadn't been skipped ahead a year.

Imari was glaring at the majority of them angrily as Inoha tried to understand what exactly it was they were saying.

"What do you guys mean we shouldn't hang out with Naruto?" Inoha asked unable to see any reason why they shouldn't.

"He's just bad news, nobody likes him, a lot of the adults call him a demon. They say only bad things happen to the people who hang around him."

"Yea! My dad told me no one in the village likes him. He said to stay away from him and anyone who hangs out with him." Another friend interjected.

"You dad sounds like a real jacka-"

Inoha cut her sister off seeing Imari was ready to explode at any moment.

"So you guys just let what other people say dictate your opinion?" Inoha questioned thinking maybe they didn't know any better if their parents had told them to stay away from him.

One of the girls frowned looking unsure of Inoha's comment before looking up.

"They're our parents Inoha, we sort of have to listen to them."

Inoha shook her head in a manner that suggested she thought differently.

"That doesn't mean you guys aren't capable of thinking for yourselves."

The group all frown at her words figuring she had a point but still..what they knew was what they knew.

"Well either way there's something wrong with the kid, there's no way the whole village would hate him for no reason. Plus I heard he doesn't even have any parents, he probably killed them or something." A boy a year older than the twins commented.

Imari balled her fist under the table and stood ready to launch herself across the table but Inoha grabbed her hand and pulled her back down.

"What do you even know about Naruto besides what it is you've been made to believe? If you look at something through a lens of fear there isn't really anything you'll be able to see past your own negative assumptions or those of others." Inoha said containing the anger that'd risen within her at the boys last comment.

"I'm pretty sure my dad wouldn't lie to me and they way everyone else avoids him has to mean something. No one would hate a person for no reason." The boy replied.

"He has a point though Inoha, that kid has to be some kind of a monster. It's not fear most people look at him with it's hate, that feeling couldn't have just come out of nowhere." Another girl commented.

"But what reason is actually good enough to hate a person as young as Naruto? There's no way he actually did something horrible enough to make the entire village hate him." Inoha said knowing whatever reason people had couldn't actually be something Naruto himself was the cause of.

"Either way that kids bad news. Our parents all told us to stay away from him. We're just tryna warn you guys."

"Warn us of what!?" Imari growled from beside Inoha.

"That the blonde demon kid is bad news! There's something wrong with him and if you guys hang around him you'll probably be-"

"Shut up." Inoha said shocking the group at the hostility in her voice.

They all looked at the Shimura lose for words and she let go of Imari's hand and rose from the table.

"Naruto wouldn't hurt anybody. You guys are sitting here calling him bad news because of what you heard from someone else. If anything that makes you guys the demons. Naruto would never stoop so low." She said turning away to leave.

Imari scowled at the shinobi hopefuls at the table before standing as well.

"Just for future reference I'd suggest you all watch what you say about Naruto. He's practically like our little brother, and none of you even know him, you have no right." She left without another word leaving her and her sisters former friends in an uncomfortable silence.

Her and Inoha walked to another table not far from theirs joining Neji, Izumi, and a few other third years who were eating in silence for the remainder of their lunch.

Although they both knew there was nothing wrong with Naruto they both couldn't help but ponder why some of the adults of the village would refer to Naruto as a demon. Surely there had to be some reason behind it, people didn't just say things like that for no reason.

It explained some of the weird looks they got when they were out with him in public. They both looked at each other and an understanding passed between them.

They'd be sure to get to the bottom of the source of all the villagers animosity towards Naruto. Whatever it was people were tricking themselves into believing about Naruto couldn't be true and it begged some serious correction.

 **Konoha Ninja academy: 4:32pm**

The academy day began at 8:30am anf ended at 4:30pm. The first two hours consisted of basic knowledge like mathematics, basic science, chemistry, biology, history and that sort of thing. Reffered to as academics by the teachers.

10:30am to 11:30 consisted of single and or team sparing sessions, apparently they'd alternate every other day. Today had been single spars so they could expect team spars two days from now.

11:30 to 12:00 was lunch time, 12-1:00 they underwent tree climbing excersizes to hone their chakra control.

1:00 to 2:30 was taijustu practice, where they all were instructed and drilled in the academy's style of taijustu.2:30 to 3:30 was ninjustu practice, at the moment they were learning the transformation and the clone justu which much to Naruto's dismay was nothing like the shadow clone justu.

Regular clones were basically just Illusionary tricks of chakra and light that had no real solid form. While they couldn't be used to actually aid a shinobi in combat they could serve as excellent distractions or even bait in certain situations.

They took far less chakra too create, so little in fact Naruto found himself incapable of doing the just at first till he'd gotten a bright idea and created a new variant of the clone justu. The multi clone justu, but due to the miniscule amount of chakra they required he'd had to create near a hundred of them to get the justu right.

His sensei and the rest of the class had been shocked to the point of no one being able to speak for a while after that, everyone besides Hinata who'd congratulated him, and Shikamaru who remarked that Naruto was troublesome. Some other kids had called him a freak but he hadn't really cared for the jealousy or their opinions on him.3:30 to 4:30 was free period for second to third years where they were expected to take part in the extra classes that'd been added to the academy this year. While getting a good grade in them wasn't necessary to pass all students above year one were still expected to select and attend at least one of these classes.

First years spent that last hour of the day being schooled in basic shinobi knowledge though, yet another part of the academies academic studies.

While the school day ended at four thirty the academy didn't close till six. Anyone from first to third years who sought to advance further at a quicker pace could stick around till six o clock to take the extra curricular classes the academy was offering.

Naruto had decided he'd stay behind till six for stealth and infiltration classes which had surprised Inoha and Imari a great deal till he remarked he'd already had the loud aspects of combat figured pretty well and he wanted to round himself out more.

They didn't really know what to think about that since it didn't seem like something Naruto would usually think of but they figured it was probably an idea he'd gotten from Hatsue unaware that it'd actually been a suggestion from some they'd never expect.

They remarked that they'd be back to pick him up at six and Naruto chastised them for always trying to baby him but they just grinned before setting off in the direction towards their cousins compound intent on getting some answers.

 **Monogahi compound 4:57** **pm** Nubutaka was sitting in his office filling out the usual paperwork, academy business, orders to replenish the clans arsenal, shipments pertaining to all businesses the Monogahi had a hand in, and other things pertaining to that nature.

When Inoha and Imari burst into his office he hadn't bothered looking up knowing the only other people who did that were Shisui and Hamura who were away on mission at the moment. He raised an eyebrow knowing whatever reason his cousins had for bursting into his office would likely be an interesting one if anything.

"Why do the villagers hate Naruto?" Inoha asked not even fully inside the office yet.

Nubutaka's eyes widened slightly and he looked up regarding the two curiously wondering how best to skate around the question he knew he couldn't answer.

"How did you to manage to come to the conclusion that the villagers hate him?"

"Don't skate around the truth Buta sama, we know they do!" Imari said looking visibly upset.

Nubutaka wondered exactly what'd happened and then he realized Naruto wasn't with them which was odd, for the past five months one of the twins always shadowed the blonde. Between Jiriya and those two it was rare to see Naruto without someone possessing white hair.

"Where's Naruto?" He questioned frowning slightly as his mind quickly ran through a number of unsavory scenarios.

"He's at the academy staying behind for the bonus classes." Inoha answered easing the man's nerves a bit.

There was still the matter of their question to be delt with though. While he'd rather not keep things from his cousins, this was something people weren't even supposed to talk about. If you knew you knew..if you didn't you didn't, it was that simple.

"Look girls, even if I wanted to tell you I couldn't, it's not something we're permitted to talk about."

"But why!? Naruto can't really be a bad guy or some kind of a demon can he!?!? Why can't you tell us!?" Imari practically yelled slamming her hands on her cousins desk and causing him to sigh.

"It's not my place to tell you. What Naruto is to other people doesn't really matter, what he is to you is what you make him out to be. That's all you two should really concern yourselves about." Nubutaka replied evenly.

"But that doesn't answer our question!" Imari yelled back unrelenting.

"I've already said it isn't my place to answer that."

"But you have the answer so why don't yo-

Nubutaka began glaring at Imari and she backed away from his desk feeling a chill make it's way down her spine. Their cousin wasn't someone who got upset often but when he did his attitude was definitely one that inspired caution.

"I've already told you I can't, whether I want to or not, I can't..whether you want me to or not, I can't...orders are orders. If you two aren't here for a sparing session or something else I would appreciate it if you'd let me get back to my work." He said glaring for a moment longer before returning his attention back towards the papers on his desk.

Imari stared at him for a moment later till her frown returned and she opened her mouth only for Inoha to silence her by pulling on her sleeve and giving her a look that suggested it was time to go.

"We're sorry we bothered you about it." Inoha offered seeing Nubutaka really did seem bothered by the question.

"It's okay..nothing wrong with being curious about something pertaining to someone you care about." He replied not looking up from the papers he'd returned his attention to.

Imari was still frowning at her cousin as her sister pulled her out of the room. It hurt to know even he would keep certain things from them, maybe in the shinobi world duty really did come first, even before family.

"Come on." Inoha said tugging her by her wrist towards the compouds exit.

"Where are we going? If Nubu wouldn't tell us who will?" Imari asked figuring it'd just be best to head back to the academy at this point.

"Someone who has enough influence and ears within the village to know exactly what we wanna know, but doesn't care about the rules half as much as everyone else." She answered rolling her eyes when he sister really asked a question with such an obvious answer.

Imari's eyes widened slightly and she questioned herself on why she hadn't thought about that. The two stepped outside the compound and Inoha looked around not taking notice of or sensing any presence but knowing there was one near.

"Hey...whoever father has watching us at the moment, show yourselves!" She commanded surprising her sister slightly with how direct she could be.

A male and a female opperative seemingly appeared out of thin air flickering to stand in front of them and bowing respectfully onto one knee. Imari was also surprised by their behavior but Inoha seemingly hadn't taken notice or just didn't care.

"I only require one of you...the fastest of you. Go find my father and tell him that me and my sister request his presence at the compound."

The female NEE opperative nodded and flickered away while the other kneeled unmoving in a bow.

"You may return to your task as usual." She commented and the man nodded flickering away and seemingly disappering as he did so.

Imari looked at her sister in surprise and began to wonder when she'd gotten so strong, so confident, and commanding. When had she went from being the frail younger twin sister or Imari who'd always needed help and correction, to the strong commanding girl who now corrected Imari when she was wrong and kept her from being foolish in the times when she couldn't control her emotions.

When had her younger twin sister matured past her and grown so much while she'd basically stayed the same? She found she really had no idea, but it likely had something to do with Hatsue's influence and how Inoha always dotted on Naruto as if he'd disappear into smoke if she didn't.

Inoha was still the same but she'd changed and she hadn't even realized it. She felt like she should be proud but she felt hurt instead and even jealous of her growth to a certain extent.

As the two began making their way towards their compound Imari began to wonder if her older sister was even aware of the change and what exactly she'd think about it if she wasn't.

 **Shimura clan compound 5:39pm**

Imari and Inoha had been waiting patiently at the compound for the last fourty or so minutes since they weren't allowed to enter NEE facilities yet and their father spent most of his time day and night at the hidden facilities.

They say in his office waiting on his arrival knowing he wouldn't be long as they'd never summonded him for anything before so he'd deem whatever it was they requested his presence for as important.

The door to the office slide open and the two bowed as Danzo walked past them to sit in the chair behind his desk before observing them both for a moment as if ensuring they were both uninjured. Anko had entered the office with the man and she now stood just behind him on his right side looking at them both curiously with a hint of worry.

"You both seem to be in perfect physical condition, no injures far as I can tell, no signs of a struggle or a battle. Why exactly have you two summonded me on such short notice when you've never opted to do so before?" The man questioned calmly, pleasing the twins who'd expected him to at least be a little annoyed they'd likely interrupted whatever it was he did while tending to his NEE program.

They both bowed their heads again keeping them down as Inoha spoke up.

"We're sorry for interrupting your work and calling on you at such short notice father but we've a question we know no one besides you would likely be capable or willing to answer for us."

"You may rise and give voice to this question of yours." Danzo said having an idea of what they'd ask him as there were only three questions that fit into that category.

The two rose and spared each other a short glance before Imari spoke.

"We'd like to know why exactly the villagers seem so unfond of Naruto and why exactly they call him a demon."

Danzo was unsurprised as he'd figured that'd be the question of the three the twins would most likely seek an answer to. Lately they'd been spending so much time around the boy the servents within his compound were even growing used to the sight of him.

Danzo happened to stumble upon him sparing with Inoha in the Shimura clan training field one day and he'd recommended to the blonde that he underwent stealth training. The boy if properly trained in the way of remaining undetected could create five shadow clones for each of the great villages and gain more intel in a week than most anbu would be able to gain in a month.

While Danzo was upset Sarutobi would deny him such a tool he still could see the boy being a benefit to the village in the long run, so he'd push him in the right direction when an opportunity presented itself.

Plus he was close to his daughters, Danzo could use that to influence him but it would take time of course, as would all things worthy of any actual effort. The Uchiha girl would only make any attempts he made to influence the boy harder but not impossible.

"Do you two really feel as if you're ready for the truth on the matter?" Danzo questioned knowing since they'd come this far there was little chance of them backing down.

The twins nodded feeling more than ready, they knew that with the truth their eyes would be opened to a number of other things. Like why Naruto seemed hesitant around new people as if unsure of how they'd react to his presence. Why people always acted anxious around Naruto as if he was a time bomb waiting to go off at a moments notice.

"Well then the answer to your question is a rather simple one but the story is actually anything but..I trust you both know that what I'm about to share with you is highly classified and doesn't leave this room?"

The twins nodded knowing that when they'd came in minutes ago. Danzo regarded them both critically for a moment before settling in his chair and explaining to them what the tailed beast were.

While slightly confused the twins paid close attention to his every word waiting for him to explain some sort of connection between the creatures and Naruto. When Danzo was sure they had a good understanding of what the tailed beast were he moved on to explaining how the villages utilitized the power of the creatures in the form of jinchuriki's.

Anko's eyes widened immediately as she quickly realized where he was going with this and the twins looked absolutely aghast as they realized exactly why people called Naruto a demon and why they tried their very hardest to stay away from the blonde.

Danzo continued onward giving them the full story of Naruto's inception, the identity of his parents, and the incident that lead to him becoming the newest vessel of the nine tails, and an object of hatred for the foolish villagers who hated the very thing that was keeping them safe.

By the end of his story and explaination both girls were completely silent.

Inoha trembled slightly and silently sheed tears over her sorrow for the young blonde she'd begun to look at as something of a little brother. Not only had Naruto been without love for the first five years of his life but all he'd ever received was hate for something beyond his control. She occasionally saw a look of sadness on his face as he watched other children his age play with friends or interact with their family.

He looked at the goods and wares sold at a number of vendor stalls throughout the village with interest and desire but would never approach them. Inoha realized the hate he received was exactly why, it's why he hesitated around people he didn't know, and why he was so kind to those who gave him a chance.

How someone who'd grown up by themselves surrounded by hate was so full of positivity was a mystery. It made Inoha feel greater sadness for his situation, and more appreciation for who he was. She understood now why Hatsue adored him so much. Against all odds he didn't let the way people acted towards him twist his mind or his heart.

Imari's thoughts were similar to Inoha's but her feelings were different, her fist were balled at her sides and while her eyes were wet her face was a mask of fury. She couldn't believe the third or the fourth Hokage, one had been cruel enough to subject his son to such torment while the other had been cruel enough to just ignore it.

She hated Konoha's leadership for keeping his heritage a secret, perhaps if they'd have known he was the fourths son they'd look at him differently. She hated the village cruel enough to gain safety from the blondes continued existence as a walking jail cell while hating him because of it.

Imari really wanted nothing more in that second than to just destroy something. She wanted to show the villagers what a monster or a demon could really look like so they'd realize they were wrong about Naruto.

Danzo observed them for a moment. The violet flecks in their eyes had brightened considerably almost turning their onxy shaded eyes purple. He told Anko she was free for the day and took his leave intent on getting back to work as usual.

Anko looked at the two for a minute and wondered exactly what it was that was going through their heads at the moment. She only recently experienced what it felt like to know someone you were fond of was a monster.

 **FLASHBACK**

"I don't understand.." Anko said looking at her sensei in shock.

Orochimaru looked at her look of disbelief with one of understanding. The look she wore right now was the same look he'd worn when he'd been informed of the death of his parents. All of a sudden the world wasn't the same as it'd been only a moment ago. She knew what she heard was the truth but she wanted more than anything for it to be a lie, a part of her needed it to be, craved for it to be a lie more than anything.

He stooped down so he was on level with her and he could look her straight in the eyes.

"I know this may be hard for you to accept Anko chan but that's just the truth of the matter, and you had to find out eventually. I am an enemy of Konoha, Konoha's number one target in fact. The bounty on my head is nearly higher than any ever placed on anyone any the village before. Second only to the bounty Iwa placed on Minato Namikaze during the third great ninja war." Orochimaru said unable to hold back a smile at his last statement.

"But why sensei, why does the village want you dead? Why are you an enemy of Konoha, what did you do?" She asked in a voice that trembled slightly and made Orochimaru feel a bit of pity for the girl.

It was obvious she'd begun to look up to and even care for the man, and while he didn't encourage it he wouldn't stop her either.

"Because as far as the rest of the world is concerned I'm a bad man Anko. I've kidnapped, killed, tortured, and experimented on people for my own pleasure or benefit. That man you see-" Orochimaru said pointing to his latest guinea pig who he'd given Anko the honor of cutting open for him.

"-had no choice in participating in this little experiment of mine. He likely had a family who are still holding out hope that he will soon return to them...but he won't. He will serve as a test subject until he inevitably dies on the table, and I will have him replaced with someone else who had a life of their own."

Anko's vision blurred for a moment and she looked at her hands and realized she'd just helped her sensei to begin an experiment on an innocent man who likely did have a family who were likely praying for his safety and his return. She'd inevitable brought the man one step closer to a death he didn't deserve.

The thought gave rise to a sickness she'd never felt before and she quickly ran to the sink in the lab emptying her stomach contents down the drain. Orochimaru continued speaking knowing she'd hear him and pay attention to his every word as she always did.

"I've kidnapped and experimented on both shinobi and civilians from this village and I'm not likely to stop anytime soon. Their lives are all inconsequential to me...they are simply a means to an end. I care no more for them than a shinobi cares for a kunai, and that dear Anko is what makes me a monster. Some would call me evil but good and bad are both subjective to the views of those who choose to acknowledge such petty terms."

"As far as the rest of the world see's me I'm the biggest mistake the hidden leaf village has ever produced, and they are right to call me a monster. I would burn this place to the ground with no hesitation, only sparing thought to the lose of so many potiental test subjects. What the village thinks of me is no misconception."

Anko continued emptying her stomach into the sink and Orochimaru created a shadow clone to begin his next round of experiments since the test subject was already ready. He waited for Anko to finish curious as to her reaction. While she was throwing up he began explaining how he'd first begun experimenting on people and how he'd come to be discovered.

Soon he noticed she was finished and he stopped telling his story. Much to his surprise, when she turned to him her face held no fear or disgust, only slight anger and curiousity.

"If all that you say is true why are you working with my father?" Anko asked knowing he wasn't lying anymore. His stories were much too descriptive, much too full of emotion as his voice conveyed a disturbing amount of both fustration and delight at certain parts.

"Your father is a monster too Anko dear. He likely has me beaten in atrocities committed, but the difference between us is he commits them for the village, I don't." The snake replied seemingly indifferent about that piece of info.

Anko looked confused for a moment. She really didn't know how to reply or react to all that she'd just heard. Her face eventually straighten and her usual fire returned as she looked at Orochimaru with a slight frown.

"Well if he's just as much of a monster as you are there's no reason for my opinion of you to change. You're still my sensei after all, just like he's still my adoptive father."

Orochimaru's eyes widened slightly before he began to laugh at the spunky girls statement.

"Oh but it's every reason for your opinion of me to change Anko chan." He remarked grinning at her. "It lets you know that I'm someone you should always be cautious of..that I'm someone you can't trust."

Anko's eyes narrowed slightly before she said something she thought she'd never say to anyone after her mother's death.

"I trust you sensei." She said seriously, unsure of why exactly she trusted the man. Maybe because he felt like the father she never had.

Orochimaru tilted his head slightly and stood to his full height looking her in the eyes.

"You shouldn't." He remarked completely serious.

Anko said nothing because she already knew as much, and she knew he knew she knew. Trust no one, Danzo's first lesson to her and her sisters, and something she'd hardly needed to be taught. The snake man in front of her had his own way of disarming her however.

They both regarded each other in silence for a moment till Orochimaru chuckled and began making his way to the labs door.

"Let's get started on your training for the day shall we?"

Anko allowed herself to smile as she quickly moved to follow the man.

 **PRESENT**

Anko moved to Inoha and placed a hand on her shoulder seeing her sister seemed to be ready to break down. Imari looked like she was ready to punch something and Anko didn't blame her. Naruto was a really good kid, it became obvious as day when spending something as short as ten minutes around him.

She could understand people seeing her father and her sensei as monsters but anyone who looked at Naruto as such had to either be stupid beyond reason or a total ass.

Maybe he housed a monster but that didn't make him such, shinobi housed the instincts of heartless murderers but not all of them were that. The part about his parents hit her hard though and it'd likely had the same affect on the twins. For both of them to die on the day he was born protecting the village just for the village to scorn their child wasn't far to either of them and it definitely wasn't far to Naruto.

Inoha suddenly looked up and Anko found herself surprised by the resolve she could see. It wasn't missed on her how much Inoha had grown in the past two years. She was stronger, more determined, less unsure of herself, and more mature.

Most would credit Hatsue for being a role model to the twins but only Danzo and Hatsue knew it was actually thanks Anko's influence. They both looked up to their older sister more than she would ever realize. Imari had matured a bit but not quite as much as her sister had, Imari had always been pretty mature for her age anyway.

Inoha looked at Imari who calmed a bit as she meant her sisters gaze and the two turned to look at Anko who's eyes widened after a moment.

"No!" She said sternly realizing this was exactly why Danzo had dismissed her from her duties for the day.

"But he has to know oneesan! As far as Naruto knows the villagers hate him just for being born!" Inoha said needing Anko to agree with her and Imari on this.

"Well telling him they hate him for being a hero wouldn't be much better! How do you think he'll react after hearing something like this? It could break him and end up turning him into an entirely different person than the Naruto we know!"

"He needs to know, he deserves to know!" Imari shouted knowing it might hurt him to find out but at the end of the day she really believed what she said.

"It isn't our place to tell him! We aren't even supposed to know, telling him could be seen as an act of treason!" She argued not wanting to fight her sisters over this.

"Treating the fourth Hokages final wish like it's nothing should be seen as an act of treason! Naruto is a hero, regardless of how anyone else feels about it he should know that!" Inoha said earning a nod from Imari.

"I forbid it!" Anko said not wanting to pull rank on her sisters, but she'd do what she had to.

"We're Shimura Anko chan, we bend the rules when it suits our needs, or we just step around them!"

Anko growled at Imari's words and shot her a scathing look of disapproval that made her involuntarily shiver.

"We only do that for the good of the village, not for what we perceive to be beneficial to our friends." She said in a threatening tone.

Inoha frowned at her sister and opened her mouth only to wind up cowering slightly as Anko turned the cold glare her way silencing her before she could speak.

"I'll hear no more of this." She commented coldly as her pressence began to fill the room and caused both twins to involuntarily shiver.

"You sound just like father!" Imari shouted unwilling to back down even if her sister was doing a very good job of convincing her she should at the moment.

"And what's wrong with sounding like him!? Shinobi don't get as far in life as he did by making foolish decisions!" Anko defended getting feed up with the conversation.

"Please oneesan!?" Inoha begged on the verge of tears yet again. She really didn't want to fight but she didn't know how she was supposed to face Naruto again without telling him.

Anko's expression softened slightly but she couldn't allow herself to waver in her decision.

"I'm sorry Inoha but my decision is finally." She said attempting to keep her voice stern.

Imari's frown turned into a glare of disgust and Anko felt her heart shatter slightly at the sight. Inoha fell down and began to cry freely and Anko really began to feel disgusted at herself.

"I'm sorry but I can't let either of you leave here till I have your word. You will not tell Naruto any of what you've heard here today."

Imari looked at her sister and turned back to Anko before she placed her hand in the seal of confrontation and glared at her sister with steel in her eyes as they became a full purple. Anko's eyes widened and she looked at Imari in disbelief and hurt unwilling to believe she'd fight her over the matter.

"You really feel strong enough about this to fight me? You know you won't win anyway don't you?" Anko asked really hoping Imari would just see reason.

"I don't want to fight you but I will if I have to." Imari said wanting Anko to just allow her and Inoha to leave.

Originally they'd hoped she'd agree with them on the matter since they looked to her for guidance but she knew now there was no chance she would agree with them now. She was fond of Naruto but not like they were.

Inoha stood and formed the same seal facing down Anko with Imari and sheeding more tears.

"We're sorry oneesan, but we know you can't beat us together. You can't hold us here so you'd might as well let us go." Inoha said trying to find her former strength.

Anko frowned knowing that was true. One on one she could take them but at the same time her odds were slim, but Inoha had been only half right. She'd have no problem holding them here if she so choosed.

She made a gesture with her hand and two NEE opperatives appeared at her side and two behind the girls.

Inoha looked at the opperatives in horror realizing they really had no choice but to give Anko a vow of silence if they wanted to leave. She could hold them here easily if she wanted.

Imari glared at the opperatives and created two shadow clones who each adopted a different stance. Inoha did exactly the same and Anko's eyes widened before narrowing at the foolish resolve of her sisters, they both knew there was no way they'd beat her and four fully trained NEE opperatives.

While she was irritated they insisted on trying anyway she still felt a great swell of pride, her younger sisters were growing up so fast. She sighed and raised her hand deciding it was now or never, she had to do it while she still had the heart.

She mad a gesture and all the anbu quickly dispersed disappering into nothing again.

"Hurry uo and go before I change my mind." She said rubbing the bridge of her nose trying to ease the building headache she knew yo be coming.

Imari and Inoha looked surprised along with their shadow clones before they all grinned and crashed into Anko hugging her fiercely causing the girl to groan and wish the shadow clones hadn't decided to join in. She couldn't help but smile as they thanked her and quickly made their way out of the compound right before their clones dispersed.

She seriously hoped she hadn't made a bad decision, that everything would turn out for the best.

 **Authors notes**

 **I'll be making long chapters here and there but Idk, 9K words may just become my average from now on. I know I said I'd be giving you guys a fight with Neji and Izumi both showing what they're capable of with swords and a promise is a promise, I'll likely put that in the next chapter, 15 Part 4, unless I do a 15 Part 5. Don't worry tho, I'll never make a single chapter into more than five parts. That's what the long chapters will be for.**

 **Dialogue**

 **Kasuf:** Who the heck are you listening to? I really like her and she sounds familiar.

 **Shy:** Gumi.

 **Kasuf:** Who the hell is that? o.O

 **Shy:** A Vocaloid.

 **Kasuf:** Oh, makes sense. You know I'm more of a Luka fan than anything, but I really like what I'm hearing.

 **Shy:** Same but I love Gumi nearly just as much! :3

 **Kasuf:** Her English is frikking amazing I'll say that much. I could really get into listeni-

 **Kabir:** The fanfiction guys.

 **Shy:** Ohhh, right! Summary's guys?

 **Kabir:** Anko's a badass lol

 **Kasuf:** Inoha was in this chapter too, Anko was the real badass in this chapter tho lol

 **Shy:** When isn't Anko a badass tho? lol

 **Kasuf:** True, Shikamaru is the man too though. I like how besides Hinata he was the only person to really give Naruto a challenge.

 **Kabir:** Dude, what about Hinata's fight with Naruto though? I really like that you don't write her as some marshmallow, but she's still true to Hinata's character.

 **Kasuf:** Broo, when Naruto started replicating Inoha and Imari's style I started cheesing, but when Hinata start replicating his I was like "oh shit!" :D

 **Kabir:** I know right! That was pretty frikking awesome, I like how they tied at the end too.

 **Kasuf:** Best ending to a spare ever. I know Sasuke was all shit faced on the sidelines.

 **Kabir:** Lool, I'm hype for the next chapter though considering how this one ended.

 **Kasuf:** Same but Shy definitely has us covered on a sneak peek though considering we just stocked up on those snacks and sodas she loves so much...right Shy?

 **Shy:** _*laughs*_

 **Kabir:** I'm guessing that's a no bro lol

 **Kasuf:** See if I draw you another profile pic anytime soon Khajul.

 **Shy:** Oh don't worry, you will because I'm the favorite. You guys can't help but spoil me. :3

 **Kabir:** She's got you there bro, we don't even buy snacks for ourselves.

 **Shy:** _*evil laughter*_


	22. Chapter 15 Part 4

**I was a bit hesitant about certain things I put in this chapter, but it'll all be used to add to the story later. Just wanna clear this up real quick so it's known. No matter how flashy anyone in this fic may be in battle their fancy techniques won't be enough to beat anyone above them in rank or skill.** **I really hope you guys will enjoy, if you don't like anything about this chapter please review or DM to send me your thoughts. I promise I'll take them into consideration and get back to you.**

 _Fresh_ _Start_

 **11K Words**

 **Konoha shinobi academy** **5:58pm**

Inoha and Imari sat outside the academy wondering how exactly they were gonna explain everything they'd learned to Naruto.

A part of both twins thought it might be better to just act as if they'd never heard anything, but they knew if they tried it'd just eat away at them on the inside till eventually they caved and Naruto at least deserved to know. They didn't know how he'd react. They didn't know if they were doing a good or a bad thing, but they knew if they were in his shoes they'd want to know.

The bell signaling the end if the academy day rung and the twins looked at each other nervously and waited where they stood till eventually they saw a familiar head of spikey blonde hair walking towards them with the trademark smile everyone associated with Naruto.

He stopped in front of them and tilted his head slightly wondering why they both looked so glum and unsure at the moment.

"Are you two okay?" He asked arching an eyebrow as he recalled they'd been just fine when they left him two hours ago.

"We need to talk to you about something very important Naruto, but we can't do it here." Imari said, her voice betraying the importance that they talk somewhere else.

"Well then lead the way to wherever it is you guys wanna talk about whatever it is." Naruto said frowning slightly. He could tell Inoha had been crying and Imari seemed nervous which wasn't normal.

The two began walking and Naruto followed, temporarily abandoning his plan of convincing the twins to join him at Ichiraku's. Whatever this was it seemed much too important to suggest such a thing right now and he doubted it was something they'd want to talk about at the ramen stand if they couldn't talk about it here.

 **Hidden NEE facility** **6:01pm**

Danzo walked back inside one of his many offices inside one of his many NEE facilities and sat down wondering if Anko had let the twins past her already.

While his oldest daughter possessed all the qualities of an excellent shinobi Inoha and Imari proved to be her weak spot and Danzo left her with her sisters knowing that to be something he could play to his favor.

Either she'd let the girls go and they'd wind up telling the boy all that he'd told them, or she'd hold them at the compound until they swore an oath of silence on the subject. Either way whatever option she choose and whichever option they choose would only benefit him in the long run.

If Anko forced the girls to take a vow of silence they would resent her for it and grow less trusting of people altogether considering they'd feel betrayed by one of the people they trusted more than anyone. He was sure they'd asked their cousin before coming to him on the matter and he'd likely denied them any information at all, and that was just something else that'd make them grow a colder view towards others.

The experience would serve as a lesson for the girls that you weren't even capable of placing trust in those who were closest to you, and that for shinobi duty came before anything, family included.

If Anko decided to let them go and they decided not to tell the boy of their own volition they'd hate themselves for it. They'd grow more introverted, more distant from everyone and everything. They'd begin to resent Konoha's current leadership and they'd be more susceptible to Danzo molding them onto something more to his liking than what they were currently.

If they did decide to tell Naruto, the boy might grow to resent those around him who'd kept the truth from him for reasons he'd be too young to understand. He'd understand that Danzo was the only reason he'd actually learned of the truth and that'd lead to the blonde placing more trust in him than he placed in the Hokage.

He'd grow to trust Danzo for being the only one willing to share the truth on the matter while the people he thought cared about him were the very people who were keeping him in the dark. He'd likely have more questions and Danzo would answer them for him as a way to gain his trust and make the boy so much easier for him to manipulate and control to a certain extent.

Maybe the truth would break the boy and make him into a monster. Danzo would have a far easier time manipulating a broken monster than he would a cheerful young shinobi who always seemed to be in good spirits.

Either way, he couldn't see how things would turn against him. Regardless of which way things went he would benefit in one way or the other. He trusted Anko was watching the twins and the boy right now even if they weren't aware of it. She would allow no one to know that they knew. She would ensure that no matter what happened the situation would not be allowed to backfire on him on anyway even if she had no idea of his intentions.

Without even being aware of it his daughters were already proving themselves a benefit towards his ambitions.

As it stood Konoha was the only hidden village with a Jinchiruki that was unaware of it's own existence as such. If Hiruzen wouldn't use the boy as he should then Danzo figured he would only be doing the village a favor by using him to serve his own ends, and molding him into an acceptable ninja.

 **Hidden leaf forest 6:19pm**

Naruto stared at the ground unable to move or react to all that he'd just been told concerning his origins and why it was the villagers despised him so much. His thoughts were a messy jumble of how's and why's. A part of him couldn't believe it but down to his core he knew without a doubt that the twins were telling him the truth.

He was the son of the fourth Hokage, the Jinchuriki of Konoha the vessel of the nine tailed fox, the unwilling hero/walking jailer of the village. He wanted to be angry, he wanted to be sad, but really didn't know what or how to feel besides pain. It hurt beyond belief to find out that the villagers hated him for a reason that actually held true relevance.

He'd always thought the villagers hated him for nothing which actually made it easier for him to deal with their hate. He'd thought that maybe it was just because he was an orphan or something but no, they actually hated him for something that mattered. Caged inside his body somewhere was a demon not only responsible for the death of the fourth Hokage, but was also responsible for the lose of hundreds of lives on the very day that he'd been born.

He could now understand the looks and it hurt to know that even though the hate was misguided it was justified. Then there was the fact that both his mother and father had died on that night, the very night that he'd been born. The thought of ever celebrating his birthday again made him want to throw up.

The Hokage had always told him his parents loved him dearly, that they'd both given the ultimate sacrifice for the village. It'd made him proud to think of his parents as such selfless individuals before. To paint them with the faces of hero's, but now that he knew he was the sacrifice he couldn't see them in such a light anymore.

Worst of all there was the Hokage, or Jii as Naruto had taken to calling him a few years ago due to the affection the old man had taken to giving him.

He felt betrayed, stabbed in the worst way possible. He'd always looked up to the third Hokage, but how could the person he'd admired more than anyone do such a thing to him? He was always just fine with the way the villagers treated him. You'd think knowing he couldn't help the fact he house's a tailed beast that the man would ensure the citzens of the village layed off him a bit but no, the old man did nothing.

Then there was Jiriya who he'd definitely come to see as a sort of role model or father figure. The toad sages betrayal hurt even more than the Hokages, then there was Tsunade, and Kakashi. He wondered exactly how many people knew the truth but decided not to tell him for whatever reason. If Inoha and Imari had never told him would he have ever found out?

He realized that was why Hatsue had looked at him with recognition when they'd first meant even though they'd never meant before. He realized that was why the others were always going out of their way to be kind to him, besides Inoha and Imari who didn't know.

While a part of him really appreciate the kindness the others showed him the thought really only served to anger him mostly.

It made sense now that a Sannin was his godfather, Jiriya had been his fathers master. It made sense now why behind all the Hokages kind smiles his eyes always held a look of sadness. Why parents told their children to stay away from him, why he'd never been adopted, and why people were always calling him a demon when he'd never done anything wrong.

He was trembling slightly not just in sadness but anger. His head was down and he was completely silent, he wasn't aware of the tears leaving his eyes as they fell. His eyes were on the ground but he couldn't see it, he wasn't even aware of Imari grabbing the fist he'd balled and pulling it open to hold his hand.

Inoha looked at him with growing concern wondering if he was even aware he'd been clenching his fist so tightly his finger nail had dug into his palm and drew blood. She pulled him in for a hug and guided his head towards her shoulder but Naruto wasn't aware.

All he was truly aware of was a sense of great pain and betrayal. Everyone he'd begun to think really cared about him had been lying or just neglecting to tell him the truth this entire time. His parents who he'd never even meant had subjected him to such a cruel fate, and even if that hadn't been their intention it was still the outcome.

He couldn't understand why everyone would lie to him about it though. Didn't he deserve to know why the villagers hated him? He'd begun to blame himself a short while before Jiriya and Tsunade arrived at the village. He'd begun to really think he was some sort of monster and as soon as he'd been on the verge of acting out on those accusations the two had shown up and made him believe otherwise.

There had to be a reason everyone had chosen to keep the truth of the matter hidden from him. He knew they wouldn't do it just to be cruel and he wanted to make himself believe that whatever it was there had to be a valid reasoning behind it. He had to confirm it but first he let his head go slack against Inoha's shoulder and he cried.

He cried for never knowing either of his parents. He cried for the life he could have had. He cried for the opinions he'd formerly held for the people he thought cared about him. He knew he'd never be able to look at them the same. He cried for the innocence he now knew to be lost, and lastly he cried for having personally being choosen to be the bearer of such a burden.

After what felt like an hour he pulled away from the twins and wiped his face as a look of resignation formed in his eyes.

"I want you to to take me to speak with Danzo. There's a few more things I need to ask him."

The twins both looked at each other as if unsure for a moment before Inoha summoned one of the NEE opperatives who were always tailing them and instructed one of them to do as she did earlier before the three began making their ways towards the Shimura clan compound.

 **Monogahi training field 6:27pm**

Izumi and Neji both arrived at the field at the same time since they'd just walked there from the academy. The two had basically become sparing partners when it came to kenjustu.

Iilha was easy enough to use as far as swords went. Light weight, well balanced, and sharp as expected, but Izumi struggled to make use of the sword to it's fullest extent. Using the ninja wire in the blade wasn't so simple as attaching it to a few kunai and laying a trap. It was much more complicated than that.

Neji on the contrary found fighting with his Nihayat (Ni-HA-YAT) almost easy. The sword was rather simple compared to Iilha but rather complex as far as traditional swords went, like everything Nubutaka crafted apparently.

During Neji's kenjustu training Nubutaka had decided it'd do him better to weild a short sword or a dagger of some kind. Something he could effortlessly use to create his own gentle fist style taijustu. He'd created Nihayat three months ago and the blade proved to be more than perfect for Neji.

The metal folded but it wasn't folded in on itself like a Kitana, instead it folded against other sheets of metal inside the blade giving it the ability to extend and retract itself at Neji's command. The blade could go from being a short sword a little longer than a dagger, to your average one handed blade giving Neji a flexibility with the weapon other sword users didn't possess.

He'd been confused when Nubutaka had told him the name of the blade and remarked that it was just a weapon which caused the clan head to grin and tell Neji he'd understand one day. That day had come far sooner than anyone had expected as now Neji only spoke of his blade with the utmost reverence, treating it as a person rather than a tool.

It's small initial size allowed him to carry it on his person at all times with no one noticing. Izumi was slightly jealous of the Hyuga's connection with his weapon. She felt like the only feeling she had concerning her blade was dissapointment.

Not in Iilha but in herself. She just couldn't use the blade to it's full potential, even though Nubutaka said she was learning pretty fast she didn't really feel like she was. He'd remarked that it was because the blade had basically been designed for him to utilize with the magnet style, and then later for Hatsue who had a skill with ninja wire no one had ever seen before.

While Neji's blade had been specifically designed for him hers wasn't. There would only be so many ways that she could use Iilha but Izumi was having none of that. If she couldn't use the blade in the ways it was intended to be used she'd use it in her own way which Nubutaka encouraged.

Neji pulled Nihayat from his sleeve and the blade extended going to it's maximum size and Neji smiled at the feeling of it. Izumi withdrew a scroll from her shinobi pouch and drew a bit of blood on her finger before slamming her hand down on the scroll which errupted into a poof of smoke.

The smoke cleared and Inoha stood with a look of calm determination on her features. She hadn't beaten Neji yet but she certainly planned on it.

Nubutaka or one of his clones sat in one of the tree's close by intent on observing their practice as he always did, but strangely enough he hadn't jumped down to greet them as he would usually. Something must have been on the clan heads mind at the moment they figured.

They stood across from each other with swords at the ready, waiting for the signal to come. A kunai struck the ground and the two raced towards one another, Izumi held Iilha towards her right shoulder with the tip facing straight forward. She knew Neji wasn't fond of blade locks and he'd take advantage if she tried to initiate one or lead with a slashing manuver.

Neji side stepped the attack and brung his blade forward in a underhanded slashing manuver Izumi backed out of the way of. He quickly pressed her launching a number of crooked piercing strikes designed to force their way through her guard. Izumi spun out of the way of his strikes and released a small tangle of ninja wire from her blade as she did so.

She brung the blade forward in an upward swing channeling charkra through the wires as she did so. Neji quickly leapt backwards getting out of the range of the wires, Izumi brought her sword arm back towards her before swinging the blade forward and extending the wires launching them towards the Hyuga.

Neji flickered out of the way and Izumi spun bringing the wires around her in a circle and sending them towards him in a horizontal barrage. Neji slashed downwards in a horizontal motion cutting through the wires.

Izumi knew the first few minutes he always just fought randomly in an effort to allow her to better acquaint herself with Iilha but after a while he'd begin to either fully use the fencing style he was learning from Nubutaka or his ruthless gentle fist kenjustu style.

Izumi also used an adaptation of her taijustu as her preferred style of kenjustu but Nubutaka was also teaching her the same style he was teaching Neji. She just spent most of her time attempting to develop new ways of using Iilha's special feature. Pure kenjustu would come to her easily enough when she put her mind to it.

She placed one arm behind her back and held Iilha forward, adopting the fencing stance and inviting Neji to attack.

He didn't hesitate for even a moment before beginning to closing the distance. Izumi channeled chakra into the blade opening all sides and letting a number of wires hang loose towards the ground. Neji noticed but disregarded it knowing she was planning something.

They began clashing with a number of quick piercing strikes seemingly fencing and barley launching any slashes. Izumi's sharingan gave her an advantage in reflexes but Neji's speed was still greater than hers and for the most part he used it to keep her on the defensive.

Izumi spun and Neji leapt backwards avoiding the tangle of ninja wire on the ground that rose as she did so but Izumi kept spinning and the wires caught fire before she closed the blade, cutting them away and launching a number of crescent waves of flame towards Neji.

He channeled chakra along his blade and sliced through the flaming wires, shielding himself as he did so. Izumi flickered behind him and began pressuring him with powerful two handed strikes and he noticed as she did so one of the wheels on the blade was still spinning.

He realized what she was doing and he quickly flickered away avoiding being caught in her trap. Izumi grabbed the ninja wire she'd been reeling in in an attempt to catch the Hyuga off guard and charged him, a tangle of ninja wire in one hand and her blade in the other.

She wrapped some of the ninja wire around her wrist and another tangle around Iilha's hilt and handle before dispensing another bundle of ninja wire and holding that in her left hand. Neji raised an eyebrow wondering what the Uchiha girl was planning.

Izumi flickered a short distance behind him and much to his surprise she threw her sword towards him instead of rushing in for an attack. He knocked the blade to the side and Izumi pulled Iilha back towards her spinning as the blade flew over her head and flew in an arch back towards Neji.

He blocked the blade surprised that such a lightweight weapon could pack such a punch when swung in such a way. He prepared to cut the wire and separate her from her weapon which would've resulted in an automatic win but she pulled the blade back towards her with the tangle of wires in her left hand before he had the chance.

Before the blade reached her she grabbed the tangle of wire connecting to the handle and swung her hand foward and Iilha flew towards Neji yet again. He moved to side step the weapon intending on cutting the wires when it passed him but Izumi flickered behind him and he could hear the wheel begin spinning all of a sudden speeding the blade up.

He threw himself to the ground avoiding what would've likely been a fatal stomach wound just in time. Izumi closed the blade on one side, cutting loose another tangle and bringing her left arm up in a vertical motion, channeling chakra into the wires like Hatsue had taught her and praying it'd work like she wanted it to. Much to her satisfaction the wires did exactly what she wished for them to do.

They rushed towards Neji in a deadly tangle forcing him to quickly regan his footing and flicker away. Izumi threw her blade and spun again before he reappeared, predicting his trajectory with her sharingan. As soon as Neji reappeared Iilha crashed into his blade and Izumi quickly pulled it back towards her. She leapt into the air catching the blade and spinning throwing the blade towards him.

Neji quickly moved to the side as the blade planted itself in the ground and she switched places with it, blocking his sword with the ninja wire in her hands. She wrapped the wires around the sword and began to pull it from his hand, but the blade reverted back to it's dagger like size coming free of the ninja wire.

Neji pulled the sword back and began to thrust forward still keeping it in it's small state. Izumi ducked underneath his initial blow but he began launching a number of them along with a number of palm jabs with his free hand, fighting with the now dagger sized blade as if it was simply his other hand.

Izumi wasn't skilled enough to redirect the sword strikes with the ninja wire. Really it wasn't a secret that only Hatsue could do something like that and Izumi had no misgivings about being skilled enough to replicate it, so she dodged the first few strikes she could and flickered away, pulling Iilha back towards her as soon as she was able.

The rules still rang clearly in her head. No justu besides the flicker allowed, no genjustu or regular taijustu, whoever drew first blood or separated their opponent from the blade would win.

She knew realistically there was no way she could separate Neji from Nihayat, but there was definitely a chance she could draw first blood before he could. She'd never actually forced Neji on the defensive like she had just now, he'd be expecting her to attack in the same manner and maybe just maybe she could use that to her advantage.

She began channeling chakra into the wires inside of Iilha and spinning and twisting the blade around herself. To a casual observer it'd seem she was just showing off but Neji knew she was skill fully laying a wire trap of some kind. In a way it ressembled Hatsue's use of ninja wire, she seemed to be doing a sort of dance.

She came to a stop not too long after she'd begun, she planted Iilha in the ground and pulled two kunai from her weapons pouch. Neji raised an eyebrow wondering if she really thought him so foolish as to charge into a trap she just laid.

The thing about Iilha was the sword could set traps but they all relied on it's positioning. It'd been made with the idea of using ninja wire combatively like only Hatsue could do, or setting traps in a way only someone with the magnet style like Nubutaka could do.

Izumi wouldn't let that stop her though, she really liked the blade so regardless of what she wasn't capable of with her she would find a way to compensate. She just need to lure him into the circle and she'd have him.

She dropped a kunai where she was beside her sword and rushed the Hyuga knowing he wasn't going to do her the honor of rushing head first into the trap for her. She got in Neji's face and prepared to launch and horizontal slash attack but the Hyuga was done humoring her.

Neji brought Nihayat up in an under handed swing pushing Izumi backwards and rushing after her. He began thrusting at her rapidly with his blade still in dagger form forcing Izumi on the defensive as she could do nothing more than block his piercing attacks and avoid the palm jabs he was launching in unison.

Izumi ducked under a piercing motion only to be faced with a palm jab which she stepped out of the way of. Neji brought Nihayat forward again and Izumi knocked the strike away with her kunai. Undeterred Neji continued as he was and Izumi found herself wondering what was more dangerous, the Hyuga style palm jabs or the piercing attacks he was launching with Nihayat in the style of the gentle fist.

She kept moving aware that he was backing her up and grateful that he was playing into her hand. Neji was aware that they were approaching her trap but he figured if things kept as they were he'd break through her defense's before that even became a factor.

The next time he brought Nihayat forward in a piercing jab he allowed the blade to grow to it's full length intending to catch the Uchiha off guard. Izumi was surprised but with her eyes she'd been able to see the movement of the blade in time and she twisted out of the way and launched a kick towards the Hyuga's temple.

Neji ducked and brought Nihayat forward in a slashing motion which was dodged. He shortened the blade again and brung it forward towards her shoulder.

She knocked his jab to the side once again and he began alternating between gentle fist style piercing motions and surprise horizontal slash attacks when he felt like using the sword like a blade rather than a dagger. Izumi watched every strike very warily. Neji only used his left hand in times like these as a distraction. Nihayat which he held in his right hand was what he used to go for a decisive victory.

The gentle fist style jabs of his left hand were pretty deadly in their own right though, but they weren't as lethal as how he used his sword. Every movement he made with Nihayat in it's dagger form was identical to how he'd usually use his right hand when using the gentle fist.

The dangerous part though was when the blade suddenly grew longer out of nowhere mid piercing motion, or when he alternated to a slash attack in an attempt to either weaken or throw her off guard. Izumi was honestly surprised he hadn't drawn blood at least once already and she had nothing other than her own determination to thank for that.

She was beginning to lose a lot of stamina defending from the Hyuga's endless assualt and it was pretty obvious Neji knew this as he didn't seem to even be trying to slip through her guard, just keeping her on the defensive to wear her down knowing eventually one hit would make it through.

Izumi molded some chakra and substituted with the kunai she'd placed by Iilha, raising her hand into the seal of confrontation and detonating the paper bomb on it right in front of Neji.

Deciding it was now or never she wrapped her hand around the hilt of her blade and lifted her into the air, streaming fire nature chakra through the blade as she'd learned from Shisui two months ago.

The blade caught fire causing flames to race through the wires connected to it just as quickly. Neji became aware of just how many wires were attached to Iilha at the moment as the flames began spreading rapidly towards the ground surrounding Izumi in a huge circle.

She began twirling Iilha in her hand and the wires all began to rise from the ground floating in the air and creating a circular tangle of flaming wires. She twirled the sword above her head and the wires followed creating a make shift whirlpool of flames above her head. She'd intended on using the wires as a trap but decided to improvise when Neji made it clear he wouldn't make it easy.

The Hyuga watched from the cloud of smoke that formed from the explosion. He was actually curious to see what she'd do with her new technique.

While in his opinion it wasn't as impressive as when Hatsue did it, what was interesting about Izumi's flame wire vortex was she controlled it with her sword.

She flickered and Neji's eyes widened as the entire vortex of flame moved with her. He quickly turned around and leapt into the air dodging a wave of flaming wires and Izumi swung her blade up causing the flaming barrage to follow.

Neji swore at his mistake of leaving himself open by jumping into the air, and extended Nihayat to it's full length. He withdrew a kunai from his pouch and hurled it towards the ground quickly, right before the wires closed in on him and he began slashing like crazy in an effort to defend himself.

He used the replacement justu with the kunai once it touched the ground and rushed towards Izumi who brought the massive tangle of wires down scorching the earth and effectively placing a barrier between them. Izumi spun and all the wires followed suit, lashing forward at Neji who jumped backwards.

His eyes widened when it became clear not a second later that the flames had leapt free from the wires and we're now following him. Easily capable of seeing that their were way too many flames to dodge or cut through he accepted that he'd lost and slammed his hand on the ground raising a mud wall to block the deadly barrage.

Izumi was panting after that last attack, her eyes widened slightly upon seeing Neji raise a mud wall to block her attack. She couldn't help grinning madly at the feeling of beating the Hyuga for the first time and mastering the flame wire vortex to accompany her victory.

Neji sighed and let his mud wall crumble before congratulating the Uchiha and remarking that he wouldn't be going easy on her at the beginning if the battle next time.

Izumi bowed to show her respect and remarked that she was grateful he'd been generious enough to do so otherwise she might have never improved so fast, with or without tips from Hatsue whenever she was able to give them.

Nubutaka smiled at the display surprised at how quickly Izumi was learning new ways of using Iilha. Cutting the wires after placing a certain amount of chakra in them, and sending them towards her opponent with a swing was something he was sure most people wouldn't have thought of in her shoes.

She also didn't have the same control over ninja wires as he and Hatsue did so she controlled them with every swing of her sword instead, channeling chakra into them as a way to make them more malleable to her wishes. In this battle Neji had clearly been the better swordsmen, but Izumi had clearly been the better strategists.

 _"Itachi's left his mark on Izumi in ways she doesn't even realize."_ Nubutaka thought thinking back to the fight.

 _"She wasn't even going for the win during the battle, but instead she'd been looking for a way, or different ways to win. Usually only Itachi does that in spares while everyone else just gives it their all and hopes for the best."_

He couldn't help but grin at that. Itachi would make a great teacher if he ever decided to try his hand at it, but then again what WASN'T Itachi good at.

 _"Allowing himself to live life for the moment rather than the fufilment of some purpose."_ Nubutaka thought answering his own question.

He leapt from the tree and came to stand in front of Izumi and Neji who both looked at him curiously wondering what he'd have in mind today that'd be different from their usual kenjustu practice since they'd decided to request something harder. It didn't surprised them when he started grinning but his next question not only surprised them but threw them off a little as they thought it was way too soon for either option.

"Who would you guys rather fight in a kenjustu only battle, Shisui or Imari?"

 **Hokages office**

"These three did what?" Hiruzen questioned looking oddly at the three genin of team twelve.

"They defeated Gray." Shikono repeated understanding why the man was a bit skeptical.

Jiriya sat up from his usual spot on the couch against the right wall in the Hokages office to see what genin had accomplished such a feat. He nodded his head upon seeing the three.

"If you told me it was any other genin I wouldn't believe it either but when you say it's those three I can definitely believe it." He said recalling what all three of them had been capable of during spares at the Monogahi compound.

He shivered when he looked at the sword using Uchiha wondering what that one was capable of in combat when he wasn't holding back on his opponent or limiting himself to just kenjustu.

Hiruzen still looked at the three entirely placid genin still somewhat skeptical. "So you're saying you didn't help them at all and they still managed to defeat Gray?"

Shikono nodded planly as if what the Hokage was saying wasn't that far fetched.

"Just look at them." He said gesturing to the three who made no visible indication to being addressed. "They aren't even visually showing any excitement at the knowledge that they've done something even the Hokage finds impressive."

"Their discipline can do nothing more to speak for itself. Any plan they devise on the battlefield that doesn't work is quickly discarded for one that outshines the original by margins. They're easily chunin in skill and intelligence and they show no hesitation on the battlefield." Shikono said leaving out Hamura's reluctants to kill only because he'd do it when he had no other option.

"Honestly Hokage sama sparing with the three of them together is beginning to become a real bother, they damn near killed me last time." He remarked sounding tired but looking completely serious.

The three actually looked surprised at this turning away from the Hokage and looking at their sensei in wonder and disbelief at his comment. While they'd known they'd been close to winning they hadn't known they were that close.

Hiruzen turned to appraise the three for a moment, all three of them prodigies of their respective clans. It wasn't surprising to hear that they were all chunin in intelligence and skill, but usually it took four or five chunin to defeat one Jonin. The rank of jonin was only given to elite ninja, elite ninja were those who were a cut far above your usual breed of ninja, which was why most ninja only ever attained the rank of chunin before either death or retirement. Just to achieve special jonin was to say you were definitely a cut above the rest.

Hiruzen clapsed his fingers together and looked into the eyes of the once again placid looking young shinobi. All of them were calm but all of them held a different emotion one could see if they were to look deeper into them.

Shisui's eyes held a pride that could only be the result of serving one's village faithfully. Itachi's eyes held the same pride although his was a bit harder to find, as was any visual qeue as to what the young Uchiha felt. Hamura's eyes held the same pride, but also what Sarutobi knew to be conflict.

He knew that look well enough, all young shinobi wore it at one point or the other. He'd likely been the one to deal the killing blow Sarutobi figured. While Shikono's squad took harder missions than most would expect of a squad with fresh genin, it made sense at least one of them wouldn't be used to the act of taking a life yet.

Hiruzen turned back to Shikono satisfied with his observation of the prodical young members of team twelve. None of them seemed to have sustained any serious physical or psychological damage and they all stood at attention while their sensei was gave the mission report.

If the three had the experience required he'd have them all promoted to genin right here on the spot but sadly they didn't. He knew all it would take was one council meeting to bypass such a thing but he had a better idea.

"Do you plan to hold them back one more year?" The man said questioning their sensei who shook his head no.

"I only kept them out of the exams last year because I wanted to ensure they were ready. I know without a doubt all three of them will exceel in the exams now."

The three unable to help it turned to look at their sensei curiously.

"I see." Hiruzen remarked fighting a grin at the thought of the three in the chunin exams.

The world was in for a huge shock if they thought Konoha wasn't still in the business of producing exceptional shinobi.

 **Shimura clan compound**

Danzo had already been inside his office when the three arrived. NEE opperative 064 had delivered the message to him rather quickly and he found himself more pleased than he would've imagined at the outcome of the situation.

Here he had Naruto Uzumaki, son of the fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and former nine tails Jinchiruki, Kushina Uzumaki, in his office observing him without a trace of fear on his features. The boy looked just like Minato but he had all of his mother's fire, Danzo could tell the moment he'd looked him in his eyes.

All was silent, the twins stood to either side of the boy looking slightly nervous. He momentarily entertained the idea of telling them to leave but he knew the Kyubi child would want him here.

Both twins had a hand on his sleeve which Danzo recognized as a touch of reassurance to remind of their presence and the fact that they were there for him should he need them. He wondered if after this little incident might he be able to manipulate the boy using the twins.

The thought just crossed his mind that Inoha and Imari with their caring sentiments towards others might serve to benefit him in ways he'd previous put no thought into. The two found it easy to get close to people and gain their trust. Perhaps they'd serve him better as they were considering he didn't need three Anko's, one would serve him just fine.

"I understand that you've had my daughter's summon me to answer the questions that have recently risen with the revelation concerning the truth of your existence?" Danzo questioned wondering if the boy'd been waiting till he was addressed to begin speaking.

Naruto bowed respectfully before raising his head and giving the answer that he figured Danzo already knew.

"Yes sir." He answered cordially aware of the fact that Inoha and Imari's father was a very powerful figure in the village, with a strictly business stature concerning all things.

"You may speak them." Danzo said figuring his hunch was correct.

Naruto nodded and looked thoughtful for a moment, his eyes still portraying his sadness and inner turmoil, but a resolve.

"You're a member of Konoha's elder council right? All the big decision makers in the village? Why'd you decide to tell Imari and Inoha the truth about me knowing there was a chance they'd come back and tell me? You don't even look the slightest bit upset or surprised."

Although it was unexpected Danzo found himself pleased with the question. It showed that even after a moment of what the elder was sure was intense emotional distress the boys rational mind was still working. He put aside his own personal questions for the moment in favor of going after the one that was really important, the question it made the most sense to ask.

"Where'd you learn to read into the details pertaining to a situation with such clarity?" Danzo questioned wanting to know if it was dumb luck or something he was trained to do.

"I just thought it was pretty weird. It's a major secret to everyone else but here you are so ready and willing to answer my questions." Naruto said in a manner that was practically casual but still curious all the same.

The blonde was definitely Minato's son if his reply and the manner in which he spoke was anything to go off of. While he'd never particularly liked the man he did respect his strength and intelligence.

"I decided to tell Imari and Inoha the truth because I counted three different scenarios that might ensue from the two of them knowing. All of which would play in my favor and none that'd play against." Danzo answered honestly causing both the twins eyes to widen in surprise.

Naruto looked at him in confusion for a moment.

"What scenarios?" He questioned wondering if Danzo would bother being so generous as to share that much.

Without hesitation Danzo explained the three different scenarios he'd seen playing out, shocking all three shinobi hopefuls, but more so Inoha and Imari. After his explaination all was silent for a moment till Naruto turned to Imari and Inoha then back towards Danzo.

"I don't understand. Why would you want your daughters to become less trusting of people? Why would you want two people as kind as Imari and Inoha to become cold towards others?"

 _"Selfless just like his_ _father_ Danzo remarked to himself knowing Naruto hadn't missed how he clearly stated his wish to use him.

"As far as I'm concerned shinobi who care too much for others are liabilities to themselves. Inoha and Imari's empathetic nature will one day prove itself to be their greatest weakness. I'd hoped for the two to one day prove to be a canvas for the values and ideals I hold in greater value to those of other shinobi."

"You'd hoped?" Naruto questioned noticing the past tense.

The elder nodded making note of the blonde boys intelligence.

"I've recently come to the realization that the twins may be of better service to me as they currently are than what I've wished for them to be." Danzo said not sugar coating his words.

The twins knew he only saw them as tools. He'd one day told Anko to ensure they knew as much to see how they'd react, and much to his surprise the two still looked at him as some kind of father figure. Not how Anko did, with a respectful admiration of sorts. Imari and Inoha actually seemed to care for Danzo for whatever reason he still didn't know.

He'd be lying if he said it didn't make him uncomfortable in a way, which was why he held them at a distance unlike Anko who he'd practically come to see as a real daughter besides the love part. He could be prideful in the girl but at the end of the day she was still a tool.

He would've taken to teaching and training Imari and Inoha occasionally as they were very eager to learn and always eager to please but he found the affection in their gazes when they looked upon him to be too much. He was used to being looked at with either fear respect or distgust. Anything else was practically alien and uncalled for as far as he was concerned.

The way they hung their heads at his words were just another reminder of why he left them to their own devices these days, they were just too emotional for his taste.

Naruto noticed the dip in their moods and raised his hand to give a light pull on their sleeves causing them both to look up and offer grateful smiles. Danzo practically scoffed at the gesture adding another thing to his list.

 _"Thoughtful just like his father although I should've guessed as much. I wonder does he only take after his father or if there's a bit if Kushina in him too besides the fire behind his eyes."_

"So if you plan on using me why would you just tell me about it?" Naruto questioned wondering if the man really thought himself that intelligent or if he just really thought him that stupid.

"Because the first step in getting someone to trust you is by being truthful with them is it not? I'd rather not have you play the role of puppet or unwilling foot soldier. I'd rather we be allies." Danzo stated planly causing the twins to let out gasp at what they were hearing and Naruto's eyes to widen.

"But why would you want to be allies with me? I'm just a kid." Naruto remarked wondering if he'd heard the man right.

"Indeed you are just a child...a child who harbors the most powerful of all the tailed beast, a child of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. When it's discovered just who you are you'll find your power and influence within the village rising exponentially. Last known survivor of the Uzumaki clan and friend to all three of my daughters. You can be quite the ally to me Naruto Uzumaki, and I can be the same to you."

Naruto looked a bit flabbergasted for a moment as did Inoha and Imari till the blonde began chuckling lowly only to stop and regard Danzo almost as if he was facing down an adversary.

"And what makes you think I'll be an ally to you when you just straight up told me your only intention is to use me?" Naruto said a bit challengingly, his gaze hard.

 _"Ahh..and there we have Kushina bright as day."_

"Because my only intention is using you for the good of the village which entitles keeping your well being in mind. I'd simply serve as one of what I'm sure will be many of your teachers, and a sort of advisor who will give you advice you won't be likely to hear from anywhere else. Not only that but as you said I'm one of the leading factors in the decision making that takes place within Konoha." He said letting that comment hang in the air for a moment before he continued.

"Just ask and whatever it is you're after I will see if I can go about getting it for you. Be it land, money, forbidden justu, political power, someone's life, or any number of things you could conjure in that mind of yours." Danzo finished with what he thought to be the closer to the deal.

"And what's in it for you?" Naruto questioned not one to be easily sweet talked by anyone.

"Nothing at the moment, but in the future when you begin coming into your own I will make certain request of you you'll be free to turn down if you'd like. I'm sure I've already gained a sliver of your trust. You know I won't lie to you but you likely don't trust my character, which is smart of you. Really your realization that you're a Jinchiruku and a fickle amount of your trust is all I'd hoped to gain out of this meeting." Danzo said truthfully.

Naruto seemed to think about it for a moment looking conflicted about the situation.

"You'll tell me about my parents if I accept?" He asked knowing this to be the deal of a lifetime.

"I'll tell you about them should you choose to decline. Consider it a thank you present for keeping the demon fox safely caged for the last six years." Danzo said pleased with how things were turning out.

He could see the boys walls falling as they spoke. He knew he'd accept his offer the moment he'd extended it. Inoha and Imari didn't look nervous anymore, they just looked very shocked at what was occuring.

Naruto observed Danzo closely for a moment before reaching his hand out. Danzo looked at the offer of agreement and almost sighed wondering why people insisted on such a thing to seal agreements.

He extended his hand and shook with the blonde surprised at the strength of his grip.

 _"More of his mother's genetics in play I suppose."_ Danzo thought greatly pleased with how things had just turned out.

"I suppose you'll want me to begin telling you about your mother and father right now?" He questioned wondering if he could just have a shadow clone do it without offending the boy.

"No, that's alright. I'd prefer to hear about them from my God dad." Naruto said with an edge to his voice.

Danzo's opened his eye and appraised the boy sharply before closing it again.

"I trust that you will do nothing reckless? Only a handful of people actually know who and what you are."

Naruto nodded knowing that the status of the knowledge he possessed wasn't subject to change just because he knew it now. It was still top secret.

"Why did everyone hide it from me though?" He asked needing the answer to that question.

"Hiruzen thought it'd only hurt you more if you knew and if knowledge of your parents was common it's likely it'd paint a huge target on your back." Danzo answered seeing no point in lying or hiding the truth since he'd already gotten what he wanted.

Naruto's eyes began to water as he realized it'd all been done with his own well being at heart. Imari and Inoha once again pinched the frabric of his sleeves just to let him know they were there and Naruto smiled a bit sadly letting them know he was grateful for their presence.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to make a request of you right now in the name of our new alliance."

Danzo raised an eyebrow finding the boys brass amusing.

"By all means." He said to which Naruto nodded.

"There isn't much information pertaining to the Uzumaki clan in the shinobi library, or at least everytime I look I can't find any-"

"You want me to do some digging and find out what happened to all the literature pertaining to the clan?" Danzo interrupted knowing where he was going.

Naruto nodded figuring it to be a pretty menial request.

"You'd do better to ask the Monogahi about that." Danzo said knowing the clan once had strong ties with the Uzumaki. He already had a good idea what'd happened to all literature pertaining to the clan within Konoha.

After the fall of Uzushio, village leadership was so remorseful they'd been incapable of doing anything for the Uzumaki that they got ride of most literature and text pertaining to the Uzumaki clan so as not to constantly guilt trip themselves.

The flak jackets with the spiraling whirlpool patern were later designed as recompense and as a way to show any Uzumaki in hiding that Konoha still held it's loyalty to the clan. It wouldn't surprise Danzo if hardly anyone in the village who wasn't a shinobi of Konoha for years now even remembered the Uzumaki.

Naruto looked somewhat surprised at the reply but he nodded figuring the man had no reason to mislead him.

"Why your still here, I'm curious to know how you've developed such manners if you've been alone for most of your life." Danzo said feeling he might as well indulge his interest pertaining to that.

"Oh, Jiriya sama and Tsunade baa chan taught me those manners. It took a while for them to stick and it's still kind of new so I'm not always respectful to people. Aside from your position on the council your Imari and Inoha's dad. Hatsue Nee told me to always treat those who are important with respect because first impressions are everything to some people."

"That makes sense," Danzo remarked, the way Naruto addressed Hatsue giving rise to another question. "You see Hatsue Uchiha as you would a sister?"

Naruto nodded his head without a moments hesitation and Danzo realized that's why the twins had suddenly become so close to the blonde out of nowhere. Hatsue adored the twins and they adored her so she allowed them to call her Nee chan or sometimes even oneesan. If Naruto did the same then essentially they were related in a sense through Hatsue, Naruto was like a younger brother to the twins.

Danzo nodded his head in understanding and stood figuring they were finished when the look on the boys face told him they weren't. He looked at the boy questioningly wondering what more he had to say and his next statement was something that surprised everyone.

"I want to move out of my little apartment and into the Namikaze manor to feel closer to my parents."

Danzo's good eye opened and widened slightly at the boys statement. That'd practically be the same as revealing to the entirety of the world that he was the son of the fourth Hokage and Kushina Uzumaki.

"The stipulations regarding your birthrights say you aren't to inherit anything belonging to either of your parents until you're chunin in rank and have a decent amount of experience to accompany the promotion."

"I don't care! I'm tired of living in a broken down apartment building and walking through the village feeling like I did something wrong because I basically saved everyone in Konoha's sorry asses!"

Imari and Inoha could only smile happy to see the fire returning to Naruto's eyes, while anger was still a negative emotion it was more preferable to sadness and if they were being honest it seemed to suit him more. Danzo added yet another tally to kushina's influence over the blonde seeing how he quickly turned his sadness into anger, that was something Kushina Uzumaki was known for doing in a heartbeat.

"For what reason is it you feel so adamantly about this?" Danzo pressed wondering if the blonde was just attempting to excerse the privledges their little deal would provide him without reason.

Naruto's features grew somewhat solemn as if he was about to speak on the death of a close friend but he didn't exactly know how to do it.

"I lived in that apartment by myself for years, thinking that it was the one place in Konoha I could go where no one would glare at me or say mean things. It was my safe place but my own personal hell at the same time whenever I came back and realized that I was alone just like always."

"That was until toad breath sensei showed up and started living with me..it felt like paradise to know I wasn't coming home to an empty home anymore and even if I did I'd still have company soon..but now it's gonna just feel like I'm living with a liar. Someone who doesn't even care enough to tell me the truth you'd think he'd have ended up telling me before anyone else considering he's my God father."

"Really though, I spent all of my life thinking that the villagers we're just stupid and that they hated me for nothing. It might not be for a right reason but now I know they have a real reason and I don't want to be reminded of how naive I've been thinking the whole village hated me for nothing. I don't wanna recall how the people I trusted more than anyone have been keeping the most important details about my life away from me, even if it was for my own good."

"I want to move somewhere else so I can feel like I'm getting a fresh start. I do have some good memories in that apartment but most of them are bad and I don't wanna sit across the table from Jiriya san while he's making breakfast or dinner and give him a fake smile, because if I don't smile like usual he's gonna know something's up. I just need a break really...something to disconnect me from the first few years of my life." Naruto said actually sounding tired as he spoke.

Danzo nodded pretty much uncaring about the boys plight but understanding of it. Maybe a disconnect from the first few years of his life would do him some good, perhaps Danzo could use this to provide yet another opportunity to benefit himself in the long run.

"While I'd grant you access to the Namikaze Manor if I could, that is something only the Hokage could do, and I seriously doubt he'd even consider it before you even graduated the academy."

"However I can offer you a place here at the Shimura compound where you'd be free to stay for as long as you choose. As I'm sure you've noticed already, besides me and my daughter's the compounds only occupants these days are the servents so space isn't a problem."

Naruto's eyes widened along with Imari and Inoha's, none of the three quite able to believe the elder was extending such an offer. Naruto began to think about it and it began to make sense after a moment.

"Just another way to keep one of your assets close to you huh?"

Silence and a look of seriousness was all Naruto really needed for an answer. Danzo wasn't the type to do favors for a person that didn't benefit himself personally.

If Naruto was to start staying at his compound he'd be able to monitor his progress, speak with him more often, give personal training and mold him into whatever his version of a competent shinobi or jinchiruki in his case, might be. Danzo even had plans to help the boy start tapping into the power of his bjiuu _(sorry if I spelled that wrong)_ although he'd need to wait for Orochimaru's return to begin doing that safely.

The blonde turned to look at the twins and the two quickly disguarded their awe stricken expressions to shot him encouraging smiles obviously excited about the prospect of him living with them. They already saw him to be something of a little brother and this would all but complete the Illusion for them.

Naruto likewise found himself excited at the prospect of living with his make shift older sisters, Hatsue would totally flip about it. He felt kind of bad for leaving Jiriya by himself in that apartment but a little women and sake would cheer the man up, it's not like Naruto could really be bothered to care at the moment anyway.

Regardless of why they'd choosen to do it the fact remained that no one had trusted him enough with what should've been his own secret. Instead pretty much everybody knew but him, which pretty much left him to feel like an idiot, or someone unworthy in the opinions of others.

Nobody took him seriously he realized, and he swore to himself that'd be something he'd change the moment he got the chance.

"I could seriously stay here if I wanted?" He asked still unsure of Danzo's decision even if he knew the man wasn't doing it out of the kindness of his heart.

"I'm not a man who often repeats himself but yes, you are free to stay at the Shimura compound for as long as you'd like."

Naruto couldn't help but to grin widley feeling a weight lifted from his shoulders. He wouldn't have to return to his melancholic little apartment and smile in the face of the lier who's betrayal hurt him the most.

"Thank you Danzo sama!" Naruto said bowing respectfully to show his gratitude.

Danzo nodded his head and called a servant who would show the blonde around and allow him to pick a room. Naruto told Danzo that he'd like to go retrieve a few things from his apartment but Danzo told the boy that whatever it was if it didn't have some sort of sentimental value they'd just buy him new things.

Naruto was a bit surprised but he figured if he was about to go for a fresh start new clothes would help him significantly. Danzo told Imari and Inoha they were to help the blonde settle in and then go shopping for new clothes to fill his wardrobe. He would send a message to Jiriya and the Hokage informing them that he'd be staying at his compound from now on.

Naruto gave the man another respectful bow feeling grateful even if Danzo was only doing it for his own personal benefit. The three left out of his office and Danzo sat back down allowing himself a ghost of a smile.

Not soon afterwards Anko stepped from one of the many shadows of the room and appraised Danzo curiously.

"Did you plan all of this?"

Danzo shook his head no and began writing out his message to the Sannin and the third Hokage.

"I had only planned to form an alliance of sorts with the boy, one that could be used to my benefit and the greater benefit of Konoha in the future. While this development is truly beneficial and will only further my plans concerning the child, I in no way planned or even expected for that to happen."

Anko nodded and then smirked lightly after a moment unable to help her next comment as the opportunity for it was just too right.

"If you were always that lucky maybe you'd still have your other eye."

Danzo stopped writing for a moment and looked up to glare coldly at the girl who just smiled at him innocently, the gleam of mischief sparkling freshly in her eyes.

"Excellent work today Anko, you're dismissed until further notice." Danzo said seeing she was suddenly in a playful mood and he'd rather not deal with it.

Anko made a sound of dissapointment hoping that today would've been the day she'd gotten Danzo to play along. She bowed respectfully to the elder before turning and taking her leave.

When he was sure the girl was out of ear shot he allowed himself a small chuckle at her comment about his eye. That girl was Orochimaru's student through and through, only she tended to amuse him while he generally found Orochimaru painfully annoying to deal with.

 **Acknowledgements**

 **NieBieSkilis : **I'm really grateful to you for pointing that out and I hope I did a good job of explaining exactly why he did it here. Thanks for the sticking with the story for as long as you have.

 **@ Guest:** I don't understand what you mean by originally ideas. We're still three years ahead of where Naruto part one starts so there's still plenty of room for growth, but please tell me what you mean by original ideas. I'm always looking for ways to improve this fic and I appreciate constructive criticism.

 **Authors notes**

 **Don't worry about the whole living under Danzo's roof thing, Naruto's gonna have the same personality he always had in canon except I'm gonna make him a bit more intelligent and give him a bit more of an edge. He'll still be the same Naruto.**

 **Dialogue**

 **Kasuf:** You over hyped Izumi and underhyped Neji during their fight.

 **Shy:** You've gotta read deeper into the lines of my writing Kasuf. Neji was going easy on Izumi pretty much the entire time up until the end, and that last attack just caught him by surprise.

 **Kasuf:** You don't think that last attack was OP?

 **Shy:** I don't, for Hatsue it's a regular thing but for Izumi at the moment it's an all or nothing attack that'll tire her out when she uses it. She knew she was about to lose so she said screw it, all or nothing.

 **Kasuf:** Ohh..

 **Kabir:** So Naruto's gonna be living under Danzo's roof now. Why?

 **Shy:** Why not? I figure it gives Naruto room for a certain kind of development he wouldn't really get elsewhere.

 **Kabir:** I still don't really understand though.

 **Shy:** Basically Danzo will be one of many who contribute to Naruto becoming the greatest badass in this fic.

 **Kabir:** Oh I think I get it.

 **Kasuf:** About the chunin exams?

 **Shy:** I already have the majority of the major fights written so it's just a matter of going back and adding more content and making sure it's readable.

 **Kasuf:** Are things about to pick up in pace?

 **Shy:** I wouldn't exactly say that because like I said, this fic will basically follow the main plot of Naruto and before the Akatsuki and the great ninja war it was all about Naruto becoming strong enough to bring Sasuke back to the village, and before that it was just about them living the lives of fresh genin and learning what it meant to be a shinobi.

 **Kabir:** So you'll just keep going with the world building and random events thing you've been doing so far?

 **Shy:** Honestly I don't know, I know a lot of people want to see a plot but for me to add a plot this early on I'd have to make one that isn't canon. I have two currently in the works, one pertaining to the Uchiha's new feud with the Yamanaka and the other concerning Orochimaru but we won't really see that one kick off until Naruto and the others are graduating the academy probably.

 **Kasuf:** But what abo-

 **Shy:** No more questions! You can ask me stuff but I'm not putting it in the dialogue! I feel like it's already way longer than it should be!

 **Kabir:** One more question please.

 **Shy:** * **noddes reluctantly***

 **Kabir:** If this isn't an Uchiha massacre fic that what'll you do to fill the chasing Sasuke part of the story?

 **Shy:** **Grins** What a wonderful question! I've got something that I think might actually be better planned for that little fiasco.

 **Kasuf:** Better?

 **Shy:** Honestly I'm always thinking about when the story reaches that part! I'm looking forward to writing it greatly, and when it's uploaded everyone who's still reading by then is gonna be so surprised they'll never find their socks again!

 **Kabir:** Okay..now you've caught my interest.

 **Kasuf:** Mine too.

 **Shy:** Just stick with me and I'm sure you won't be dissapointed :3


	23. Chapter 15 Part 5

**I wonder if there's any point in pointing out the chapters you guys might find boring since you guys gotta read them anyway to follow the story. Why's it boring? I don't know exactly. Lack of action or romance maybe? That could be the reason. My writing is far from godly so boring chapters come with the territory. I guess I like fleshing things out so my pacing is really slow and there will be a handful of chapters that don't particularly stand out, sorry if it annoys you or anything.**

 _Perceptions_

16 **K** Words

 **Hidden leaf village** **-8:04pm**

Anko wondered which shop her sisters scurried off to with Naruto but opted not to really look for them. Imari and Inoha took much too long to pick out clothes and she'd rather not sit there while they helped the blonde find something that'd suit him.

She'd been dismissed for the day but really she didn't know what to do with herself. Usually from the time she woke up until the time she went to sleep was spent training or learning something new. She was starting to gain a measure of free time lately and she found she didn't really like it. Other than eating dango there wasn't really much for her to do in times like these.

She entertained the idea of going to go see Hinata and wondered if she'd be home by now. If not she could always just wait for her at the Hyuga compound, a little incident a few months ago had put her on Hiashi's favorites list.

 **FLASHBACK**

She stepped into the shadows on the wall and waited for the guard she knew to be on duty to pass her hiding place. He passed her completely oblivious to the presence of the young girl hiding in shadow and Anko moved, quickly recognizing her opprotunity as she'd done this a number of times before.

She moved to the front of the compound and observed two gate guards as she had known she'd see as always. The Hyuga were just as obsessed with security as any of the other clans in Konoha but the difference between them and others was the Hyuga were creatures of habit. Their patrols might change faces but the times and positions they were in always remained the same, that could be both a good thing and a bad thing as far as she was concerned.

She stuck close to the walls and flickered behind one of the gate guards who's face she recognized even in the dark. The man turned seeing the shadows besides him move but Anko was already gone just like that.

Anko was already scaling the side of one of the compounds buildings knowing the roof of this one would put her in direct view of the gardens whicj she could use to get inside the compounds main house of dwelling.

Anko had realized a lot of the clans of Konoha did things differently from others. While the Shimura compound consisted of a number of individual dwellings meant to serve as clan housing for specific families the Hyuga compound consisted mostly of one large dwelling which was more like a palace than a house of any kind.

There were a number of smaller buildings inside the compound but not many. One she assumed was a guard post, another a temple, and the last a private bath house for Hyuga only of course. She'd thought it odd at first but she guessed the Hyuga were more like a monarchy in nature than the rest of the clans so the palace thing made some sense.

She jumped from the roof landing silently in the garden and observing her surroundings before she stood, opened one of the doors separating the inside of the building from the garden that was built inside it. She strolled down the main corridor of the palace knowing exactly where she was headed, walking as casually as one who belonged there.

She found it foolish how the Hyuga always seemed completely relaxed inside their compound. Their dellusions that nothing could get inside their compound without their notice made breaking and entering nearly as easy as remaining undetected once inside was.

Anko continued through the compound in total silence slipping into a specific room with no trouble at all. She sighed thinking that even if she had been taught to move with the utmost stealth like a NEE opperative she thought breaking into the Hyuga compound should've been more of a challenge. She'd been doing it for a while and anahe began to wonder if she'd ever get caught.

She realized with much dread she'd already been discovered when she turned around and saw a curious Hiashi Hyuga sitting in a chair in the room looking at her in a way that demanded answers.

"Uh-uhm...hello lord Hiashi." Anko said smiling sheepishly and dipping into a bow.

"So you're the one who's been breaking into my compound the past few weeks?" Hiashi said in a voice that was calmer than what she'd thought it'd be.

"Y-yes sir." Anko answered not bothering to tell him it'd been more than a few weeks now.

"Why?" Hiashi questioned glaring daggers at the kunochi.

Anko knew he was wondering if her father had put her up to it and she didn't blame him as if he had she'd have definitely done it with no questions asked. Danzo was already pretty much spying on every person in Konoha so his suspicion wasn't exactly misplaced anyway. She opted to tell the truth as it wouldn't make him any mader than he already was.

"Hinata isn't allowed outside after a certain time so I come visit her here after I'm done my duties for the day. Usually right before she turns in for the night." She answered hoping to be spared the Hyuga's wraith. Sure he wouldn't kill her, but he could painfully disable her and turn her into the leaf police for breaking and entering.

Hiashi's gaze sharpened and Anko replayed what she just said in her mind realizing if she were a male Hiashi would've likely killed her on the spot for saying what she just did. She thanked everything that was sacred in the universe she was a female, even though her comment still seemed to have pissed Hiashi off a bit more than her breaking in had already.

"So you pay my daughter nightly visits without my permission by breaking into my compound? You do realize that by doing so you disrespect my clan and the laws of Konoha?" He questioned not bothering to hide his distaste at her actions.

Anko nearly flinched at the man's tone but she became a bit hopeful deciding to try and play what little she had in her hand.

"Well...I have helped you to realize you could stand to beef up security a bit." She offered smiling weakly.

It was plan to see from the narrowing of his eyes that Hiashi was not pleased with her response. Anko huffed not in the mood to deal with anyone's attitude at the moment.

"Look, why don't you try lightening up a little? It's not like I'm trying to kidnap the girl or anything, just spending time with her." She said matter of factly causing Hiashi's eyes to narrow even more as his countenance grew colder.

"Have you ever been arrested Anko?" The clan head questioned causing the girl to flinch as she realized exactly what he was saying.

"Not without a fight I haven't!" Anko said shifting into a defensive stance and placing a hand on the smoke bomb she kept as insurance. She figured if she was about to be arrested for the first time ever she might as well go down fighting for it.

"Then I sho-"

"Father wait!" Hinata's voice cut through the hostile atmosphere in the room drawing the attention of both shinobi.

"I knew Anko was coming here to see me lately so it's not like she's seriously been committing a crime." The Hyuga hieress said entering the room through the door way and coming to stand between the two.

Hiashi looked at his daughter in surprise, shocked she'd come to stand between him and anyone. What's more was she looked at him with a resolve he'd never seen before. Apparently she was standing with Anko on this matter regardless of how he felt about it.

He hadn't known the two were that close and he wondered just how far she'd go to stand up for her friend.

"Stand aside Hinata. This matter is one that doesn't concern you. It involves your friend her, and her careless disregard for the rules."

"But father-"

"No butts! You're to go inform whoever's on guard duty at the moment that we've stumbled across an intruder."

Anko looked at Hinata who looked torn at the moment and offered a reassuring smile.

The Hyuga girl swallowed and straightened herself standing taller in front of Hiashi before shifting into a bow and keeping her head down.

"I'm sorry father but I've already stated Anko's presence within the compound to be my responsibility. If you insist she is due some form of punishment I'll insist that punishment falls on me."

Hiashi's looked completely taken aback for a moment and Anko could only hold her breath hoping she'd be able to convince him not to punish Hinata too harshly for her disobedience but surprisingly the man began to develop a smile.

"I see." Hiashi remarked appraising the two for a moment longer before he turning to Anko.

"What exactly is your relationship with my daughter?"

Anko looked a bit puzzled at the question before she answered.

"Hinata is my best friend, and my student until she learns how to get past that little confidence problem of hers." Anko said looking to the younger girl who blushed slightly at having her lack of confidence once again called to mention.

Hiashi nodded appraising the two once more before deciding what the Shimura girl said was likely the truth of the matter. Today marked the first time he'd ever seen Hinata stand up for anything and he found himself too proud of his daughter to pass judgement on the friend who was responsible for it.

He warned Anko against breaking into his compound in the future and left the two to their own devices leaving the two gazing at the door he'd left through in confusion.

 **PRESENT**

Anko grinned at the memory. Two weeks later Hiashi had been highly fustrated to find she was still breaking into his compound regardless of him giving the compounds guards permission to let her pass.

Her excuse had been breaking and entering was too fun and Hiashi had only sighed deciding it best to just be grateful Hinata made a friend who could help her work on her confidence.

She hadn't seen herself becoming friends with the Hyuga but after their second training session together she found she preffered being around Hinata to being around most people. Hinata and Anko were practically opposites but they eventually discovered they both did well to balance each other out.

After that little discovery Anko began spending most of her free time with the Hyuga and Hinata who grew to really appreciate her friendship did the same whenever she could find the Shimura.

She decided she might as well make her way towards the Hyuga compound and inform Hinata on all that'd just transpired concerning her beloved. She knew it was a very important secret but she told Hinata everything and she knew the girl would never betray her trust.

Hinata unlike everyone else in Konoha even knew who her master was, and while she'd suggested to Anko more than once she inform the Hokage, she'd made no move to betray her friends trust in doing so on her own. Anko knew she'd have no trouble keeping this secret as well and she would actually want to know considering it concerned Naruto.

She picked up some dango and a cheese cake before turning towards the direction of the Hyuga compound. She was greeted with a familiar sight a short while after she'd begun walking down the street and she almost smirked before she frowned seeing her usual target for harrasment, Hamura Monogahi sporting a look of sadness that'd give his little arm episode a run for it's money.

 **Uchiha compound** **-8:06pm**

All eyes in the room turned to appraise the new comers who both nodded and bowed respectfully to the assembly before moving to take their seats.

Hatsue nearly scoffed at the action and had to give the boys credit for the respect they showed the elders. It was no big secret that in a few years Itachi and Shisui both will have surpassed everyone in the clan by leaps and bounds. Everyone besides maybe Fugaku who was still a shinobi in a league of his very own.

She stopped bowing to the elders a while ago and she didn't think they deserved respect from Itachi and Shisui either. Maybe she was just bitter but it was how she felt. Over the past few months the clan had come to actually treat her with respect which surprisingly she came to resent.

The only reason she was acknowledged was because of the Hokages words at the beginning of the celebration months ago and her relationship with Nubutaka. She was still looked at like less of an Uchiha due to the circumstances of her birth but it was just at a point now where the others couldn't ignore her as they'd done in the past.

The only reason she was respected was because she'd proved herself useful over and over again to Fugaku, who'd come to view her as an asset to the Uchiha. While she was respected and actually looked up to by some of the younger Uchiha, a number of them around her age or older still didn't like her simply because of who or what her mother was and wasn't.

She found she didn't really care for the respect of most of her clan. She'd have rather remained under the radar than to be acknowledged by those who still would only ever view her as less than she should be. People who only bregrudgingly afforded her their respect because they felt they should, not because they actually wanted to or thought she deserved it.

She wondered if she was ungrateful or just wanting of more than she deserved, she couldn't help feeling how she did though. The Uchiha were fickle and she no longer had any desire for their respect. She understood Itachi better in that respect, most children his age would seek to impress their elders above all else but Itachi was too mature for that. He sought only to increase his skill and protect his village.

She wondered what the Uchiha clan would look like with Itachi at it's head. Not that Fugaku wasn't a good leader, she just wondered.

"Now that everyone's here I think we can begin today's meeting." One of Fugaku's advisors remarked sitting to the right of the clan head.

"Today we'll be dealing with important matters first. Speak up, and make your thoughts known."

Immedietly an older Uchiha man stood up making his voice heard. "I would like to know what exactly our plan is concerning the Yamanaka and the child of mixed blood. Surely we cannot continue treating the child as if it were some war spoil to be fought over."

"I for one agree with that sentiment," Another Uchiha spoke. "The child clearly belongs to the Uchiha. We cannot conceed right of guardianship to the Yamanaka. What if the child is to develop the sharingan?"

"I think it best to give the child over to the Yamanaka." A man in the back said earning himself scowls and the errie of most Uchiha in the room.

"His father is after all a Yamanaka. By right that would dictate he belongs to the Yamanaka."

A chorus of voices rang out reprimanding the man who spoke, shaming him for his opinion.

"Would you so easily place our dojustu in the hands of others?"

"What the hell did you hit your head on!? Get real!"

"Now we know you didn't get promoted to chunin because of your intelligence."

"Have you no pride as an Uchiha?"

"While you're at it why not just go and hand your daughter and your mother over to Kumo."

Hatsue winced slightly at the last one thinking it'd been a bit uncalled for. She saw Itachi and Shisui calmly observing the room. Fugaku let the group argue among themselves, paying attention to their arguments but for the most part dismissing most of their suggestions as none of them were actually useable.

It was clear the majority vote was in favor of just claiming the child as an Uchiha regardless of the consequence.

A small group of people thought it'd be best to give the child over to the Yamanaka as a way to avoid the conflict that'd be sure to one day become as physical as it was verbal at the moment. Of course this group was reffered to as cowards by the other but they boldly stood their ground regardless.

Fugaku raised a hand and let it hang there till the noise was drowned out by silence and he was sure he held everyone's attention.

"Regarding the matter of just claiming the child as an Uchiha. Such a thing would be to entirely disregard any claim the Yamanaka has to the child and as such it'd be the greatest kind of insult made towards the clan in history. We cannot simply disregard the Yamanaka entirely in this as it'd likely result in open conflict between our clans. What we need is suggestions on how we're to solve this problem in the most efficient way possible."

The room was silent for a moment till an unlikely person spoke up.

"Why not just share costody of the child?" Itachi questioned seeing what all the big fuss was about, but not really SEEING what all the big fuss was about.

"Shinobi clan's sharing costody of anything is unheard of and likely wouldn't end well for any of the parties involved." A man on the third row quickly countered.

"But how can we claim to know the turnout of something that has never been tried before?" Itachi fired back knowing the Yamanaka were an agreeable bunch. "Compromising with them just might work if we were actually willing to try it."

The man shook his head no as if there was simply no way Itachi's suggestion might work.

"How can a child who lives in two clans serve the interest of both? Of course the individual would hold one clan to greater value than the other. On top of that, sharing the rights to an item is like sharing your soul...the Uchiha don't like sharing."

Itachi nodded seeing where the man was headed, but he'd already planned ahead for such a reply.

"One could accomplish such a task in the same why in which a child obeys both parents, or how a clan shinobi is loyal to both his village and his clan."

Murmurs went around the room as people began to actually consider their young hiers suggestion.

"We should have no reason to compromise!" A younger Uchiha towards the front sounded loudly, quieting his brethren.

"A Yamanaka has lain with and impregnated an Uchiha female without any kind of blessing or permission what so ever! The fools should be lucky we aren't demanding blood for such an offense!"

"That's right!" Another man bellowed making himself heard. "The union of the two is illegitimate and unconsented! The child belongs to the Uchiha by right!"

A chorus of yells filled the room in agreement and Shisui and Hatsue both sighed hoping the clan would've come to an agreement to try out Itachi's suggestion.

"I think we should crack down on the Yamanaka and let them know we don't appreciate one of their own blatantly showing disrespect towards our clan in such a manner! We pressure them for either the head of the man responsible for this little fiasco or we press them for all rights to the child!" Someone in the back yelled earning a chorus of agreement.

Shisui had to give it to the man who had come up with that suggestion. It was the best besides Itachi's he'd heard so far. Hatsue and Itachi had to admit to themselves that that plan just might work, although it'd definitely leave the Yamanaka and the Uchiha on shakey terms with each other.

 _"Noted."_ Fugaku thought adding that suggestion to a mental list.

"Is there no way to settle this that won't result in a decline in the Uchiha's relationship with the Yamanaka?" Hizisho asked earning himself a smile from his granddaughter.

While they hardly saw eye to eye on everything it was nice to know they were usually on the same side.

"No way that'll see the Uchiha get what we want. Why compromise over this matter? We are the ones who've been wronged, not the Yamanaka."

"It isn't like they purposely set the man on the task of seducing one of our clan members. We weren't wronged by the Yamanaka intentionally, and due to the nature of this situation it's only natural they be as upset as we are. Alongside the Monogahi the Yamanaka are our greatest ally in Konoha. A peaceful solution would be for the greater benefit." Hizisho replied calm as always.

"The Uchiha have need of no allies and niether are we a clan to compromise." One of the elders spoke up.

"The Yamanaka must compensate us in some manner for this disrespect. Why not have them execute the child, or better yet, why not do it ourselves?"

One look at the gathered assembly and it was plan to see most were distgusted with the suggestion. A surprising amount of people seemed to be giving it thought though and an argument about the subject soon ensued.

Fugaku knew that suggestion wasn't one he was liable to actually use but it was a viable one so he'd hold on to it for consideration when the time came to make a decision.

The room was now practically split between two sides. Those who didn't care how the problem was dealt with and those who wanted to solve it in the most delicate way possible. Fugaku raised his hand calling for silence again, tonight's meeting would likely be a long one as they still had more things to go over than just this topic.

 **Hokages office-8** **:11pm**

"So..." Hiruzen asked leaning forward to observe his former pupil, linking his fingers together as he always did when about to bring up a matter of importance.

 _"Oh no.."_ Jiriya paled thinking he had an idea about where this was headed.

Hiruzen's eyes narrowed slightly upon taking in the Sannin's change in demeanor, but he continued anyway. "About your decision concerning my offer for the position of Hokage?"

Jiriya's eyes widened slightly and he relaxed a bit allows a sigh of relief to escape his lungs. Hiruzen raised an eyebrow at the man's reaction.

"You were expecting something else?" He questioned wondering what'd the Sannin think he was about to bring up that had him tense in such a way.

"Oh..ahhh...it's nothing really." Jiriya said not looking his sensei in the eyes.

Just as Hiruzen opened his mouth to remark on the obvious lie the other person he'd been hoping to speak to walked through his office doors without bothering to knock or make her presence known before stepping inside.

"You wanted to see me sensei?" Tsunade asked Hiruzen doing her best to ignore her former teammate who she knew was like making some ridiculous face at the moment.

"You're really just gonna ignore me like that Hime? I'm wounded." Jiriya said clutching at his heart and faking pain.

"If you'd like I could take your mind off the pain by making it hurt elsewhere." Tsunade offered raising a fist and acknowledgeding Jiriya for the first time since she walked in.

"As long as it's you patching me up afterwards I wouldn't mind." Jiriya winked earning himself a frown and a hmp, as Tsunade turned back towards her sensei.

Hiruzen's face nearly showed his surprise as he caught a faint pink tint on Tsunade's face. Earlier today he would've laugh at anyone who suggested the blonde felt anything beyond a bond of friendship with the man. He had to pinch himself underneath his desk to assure he wasn't dreaming.

Tsunade swore inside her head as she could tell her sensei could definitely tell her face had warmed a bit. She'd quickly turned away from Jiriya so he wouldn't see it but then she ended up exposing herself to her sensei.

She couldn't help it lately. It was like some how, inexplicably Jiriya had developed a bit of charm about his ways. She no longer felt like his advances were aggravating, but instead she felt they were a bit endearing and even cute in their own way.

As a Sannin and the author of the now famous make out tactics series, Jiriya could practically have any woman he wanted but the only one he really pursued with a macrocosm of seriousness was her, his child hood crush. The man was filthy rich, caring, strong, famous, funny, and pretty easy on the eyes.

He was generally everything women usually sought after in a man but Tsunade just found the idea of being in a relationship with the man to be too much.

She'd only turned him down in the past because she held no attraction for him what so ever, but now she found the thought of taking Jiriya as a lover to be somewhat intimidating. She didn't know why that was either, she just felt like it was dangerous territory.

Hiruzen continued to observe Tsunade who's face only grew warmer under scrutiny from the man who'd just discovered her greatest shame. She hoped her sensei would think no less of her for feeling something for that pervert, the heart could just be incredibly gullible at times.

"Well!" She exclaimed want to move past the subjects her and her sensei were currently hanging on in their own world's.

Hiruzen began chuckling after a moment shooting Tsunade a wry grin which he quickly threw away before Jiriya really noticed.

"I've called you here to inquire as to your response about my offer for the position of Hokage."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed for a moment before she looked down at the hat sitting on the man's desk thoughtfully.

"Honestly sensei I have no idea how to respond to your offer. I'd rather not accept the position, although I know you'll need to retire eventually. I'm sure my grandfather and my uncle would want me to accept, they'd be exceedingly proud of me if I did but...I just don't know honestly."

Hiruzen nodded understanding where she was coming from. The Hokage hat along with the office was a very heavy burden. If not for Danzo, Homura and Koharu Sarutobi might not have done as well in office as he did. While in his opinion he didn't do good, he did his very best and considering the leaf was still standing, his best just so happened to have been good enough.

"And you Jiriya?" Hiruzen questioned.

Jiriya shrugged, appearing just as nonchalant about the matter as he was about most things.

"If I get to share the same room as Tsunade hime everyday I'm actually sold on the idea." The man joked completely serious at the same time.

Tsunade turned to level the man with a glare, resisting the urge to punch him for joking about such an important matter. Hiruzen simply grinned into his hand wondering how long Tsunade had till Jiriya realized she was beginning to feel something for him.

If Hiruzen knew anything, it was once the toad sage found out there would be no escape for Tsunade. Jiriya would leap upon the opportunity he'd been waiting for practically his entire life for, before anyone knew what happened the two would belong wholly to each other.

"Well I guess that leaves only one of you to wait for, take your time Tsunade. I may not be a spring chicken anymore but I've still got a few good years ahead of me, and I'd never ask someone to make such an important decision while indecisive about it."

"You're definitely not a spring chicken anymore old man." Jiriya teased causing his sensei to smirk.

"That may be true but I'm sure I could still teach you young whipper snappers a thing or two."

"Ohhh!" Jiriya said perking up from his position on the couch. "That wouldn't happen to be a challenge would it sensei? They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks but this old dog begs to differ on that one."

Hiruzen chuckled lightly a bit of mischief in his eyes as he begged to differ to that last comment.

"An old dog can teach an older dog nothing that he doesn't already know. I'd be glad to show you why it'd be foolish to think otherwise."

"Oohhh! I like that confidence sensei! If you're really feeling up to it we ca-"

A knock at the door broke their conversation and Hiruzen called for whoever it was to enter. Both eyes of the Sannin narrowed slightly when they saw a NEE opperative step through the doorway and approach the Hokage, giving the man a slip of paper and bowing respectfully before flickering away.

Hiruzen who wasn't used to receiving messages in this way from Danzo opened the paper and his eyes began widening exponentially as he read. He couldn't believe it as his eyes scrolled down the paper. Danzo had just crossed a line Hiruzen didn't plan on easily overlooking.

"Woodpecker!"

An anbu flickered into view in front of Hiruzen's desk kneeling on one knee with his head in a bow. "You called for me Hokage sama?" The anbu asked awaiting his orders.

"You are to inform Danzo that his presence is called for in my office immediately."

"Hai, Hokage sama." The anbu said flickering out of view.

Tsunade and Jiriya both looked at their teacher knowing he suddenly seemed upset for whatever reason.

"What'd Danzo do this time?" Jiriya questioned knowing the man really had no boundaries.

"See for yourselves." Hiruzen said handing the letter off to Jiriya.

The Sannin's eyes scrolled across the paper from top to bottom, even taking the time to re-read the letter as if he didn't quit believe it's contents the first time.

 _Dear Hokage_

 _Due to a number of unforseen circumstances my daughter's happened upon the knowledge of Naruto's heritage as well as his status as the villages Jinchiruki. Upon finding this information the two saw fit to share it with the boy who then came to me seeking more answers. Seeing as he already knew just about everything there was to know about the matter I filled in what little blanks he had. The boy then requested I afford him new lodging as a way for him to get a fresh start of some kind. I informed him it wouldn't be much of a hassle if he were to beginning staying at the Shimura compound and he accepted. The purpose of this letter is just to inform you of the matter, I'm sure you'll wish to discuss it in full detail soon after you've received this, your anbu know how to contact me._

Jiriya handed the paper to Tsunade and quickly left the office through the window. Hiruzen figured he was going to find Naruto as finding Danzo was usually hard and then sometimes impossible. You could find a way to get in contact with him but finding him was another thing.

Tsunade finished reading the letter and her expression became one of pure malic as her chakra became heavy enough to make Hiruzen sweat.

"What the HELL is that guy playing at!?!?"

 **Konoha-8:16pm**

"Will you just leave me alone!?"

"Not until you stop feeling sorry for yourself! Who the hell do you think you are anyway!?"

"I think I'm ME! What does how I feel about anything have to do with you!? I'm not in the mood for your annoying games right now Anko, so leave me alone!"

"Or what! You're gonna cry on my shoulder since it's apparently the only thing you're any good at?!" The dango loving girl said rounding on the boy and cutting him off as he'd turned to walk away.

Hamura glared daggers at the Shimura wondering why she gained so much satisfaction by annoying people. He turned to walk away again only to find the spunky purplette in his face again.

"So that's what being a shinobi means to you old man? Crying after every kill, feeling sorry for yourself!? I thought shinobi were suppose to be strong!"

"I thought Shimura were supposed to be quiet and reserved! You want to address some misconceptions, let's address some-"

"This isn't about me it's about you!"

"Exactly, so why are you here!?"

"Because I'm trying to help your sorry butt! You're upset you killed a defenseless shinobi, big whoop! Defense's civilians are killed everyday but you don't see their killers crying about it!"

"Because I'm not a killer!"

"Then you're not a shinobi! What the hell do you think shinobi are?! Ninja are a villages hands, they do the villages hard work and vanquish it's enemies! If you're too weak to kill an enemy without crying about it later maybe you should just give up now!"

"Who says I have to be like everybody else? I can serve the village in my own way without trading in my morals." The Monogahi said turning and walking away again.

Anko balled her fist in outrage and took off one of her sandals hurling it at the back of his head.

"Who the hell do you think you are!!!" The Shimura girl shouted again drawing quite the number of eyes.

A man who happened to be walking by with his son winced as he saw the shoe smack Hamura in the back of the head, followed up by her angry yell. Apparently even kids these days were subject to the same types of arguments adults went through he thought feeling a tinge of pity for the younger generation.

Hamura turned around and regarded her shoe on the ground before looking up appearing just as incredulous as he looked angry.

"Wh-"

"Shut up!" Anko raged closing the distance between the two and picking up her sandal.

"You think you're soo great because you come from a clan that practically borders on royalty! You think you get to choose who lives and dies. You think you get to spare people. You think you get to feel sorry for yourself! You don't Hamura, those things are a privilege shinobi don't have the idiocy to afford themselves!"

"And who the hell are you to tell me I can't feel sorry for myself!? It's not self pity, it's remorse for a lose of what I believe in! You have no right to stand there and talk about me like you know me!"

"I do know you!!! You're that stupid Monogahi kid who thinks because he grew up a bit pampered he can cry everytime something bad happens!"

"I'm not crying!"

"But you are!"

"No I'm not!"

"Yes you are!"

"No I'm not!!"

"Yes you are!!"

"No I'm n-"

"Shut up! If you aren't crying why were you holding your head down? Why does being around you right now make me angry? I was excited when I saw you ten minutes ago, now I'm just mad! Why is that Hamura!?"

Hamura paused for a moment and began to think about it. "Because you're crazy."

Anko's glare grew even hotter and Hamura almost took a step backwards but his anger wouldn't let him back down.

"It's because you're pissing me off! You don't get to feel sorry for yourself! Don't you know there's a lot of people who would kill for your life, and here you are wasting it with tears." She spat, disgust audible in her voice.

"I'm not crying." Hamura growled.

Anko merely continued to glare sending him an incredulous look. Without any warning she picked up her foot and brought it down hard on his big toe causing Hamura to howl in pain and lift his foot hoping around on his left foot as his hands held onto his right attempting to sooth the pain he now felt.

Anko took note of the tears in the corner of the boys eyes and smiled at him in a manner that was sickly sweet.

"You're crying now."

Hamura glared hard at the girl before her expression became one that was neutral and strangly solemn which he found confusing.

He'd seen her angry, furious, frightened, happy, and upset, but Anko hardly ever wore a completely neutral expression. Her face always betrayed some kind of emotion or feeling, even if it was boredom and the solemn thing was new. Anko got upset, she didn't get sad.

"I guess I can understand why you feel the way you do but those feelings aren't something shinobi really should give time to, if you do you'll start doubting yourself in battle." Anko said in a low tone that left the Hamura to surprised to reply.

"Emotional weakness is one of the most fatal kinds of weaknesses. Only the strong survive in this world Hamura." She said looking up and frowning again.

Suddenly she slapped him hard causing a number of people who'd stopped to subtly observe the two to wince. A number of married and unmarried men raised hands to their faces knowing exactly what that felt like.

"What was that for!?!?" Hamura shouted feeling more upset than he'd been beforehand.

"You aren't allowed to appear weak in front of me Hamura! I don't care if you want to go cry to Nubutaka or Shisui all day. If I catch you looking like anything less than what you are I'll punish you for it." Anko practically growled.

Hamura rubbed the left side of his face looking at the girl in confusion before he began to understand a bit.

"What am I?" He inquired wondering exactly what he was in her eyes.

"You're annoying for one." Anko said fighting a smile but not quite succeeding. "And you're strong. You're a good person. Don't start doubting yourself just because you're doing what good shinobi are supposed to do."

Hamura scoffed, "You don't get to tell me what to do."

"Oh yeah? Well guess what..I am." Anko said folding her arms.

"Oh yeah? Guess I'll just decide not to listen then." Hamura said defiantly.

Anko released a short sigh before closing her eyes for a moment before looking back at Hamura with a frown that was no longer angry, just annoyed.

"If you do keep allowing yourself to fall into your little self loathing states like this I'll find out and you better believe that when I do I'll either kick your ass or give you hell for it." Anko said placing her sandal back on her foot.

"Why?" Hamura said frowning at the girl.

Anko finished place her sandal on and stood up straight to observe Hamura for a second before she shrugged.

"Because I can't stand seeing you like that."

Hamura's frown became confused, he didn't really consider that to be a good reason to rage on someone, but it was as close to a good answer as he was gonna get.

Anko just observed him as he seemed to be in thought for a moment till he looked up.

"Thank you." He said taking the Shimura girl and himself by surprise.

"I...It's..nothing." Anko said after a moment wondering if that was the first time Hamura actually showed her any gratitude without her bugging him about it.

"Seriously though, thanks for everything. I don't like seeing myself in those moods either."

"I said it was nothing dummy, I'm the one who should be thanking you really. You saved me from those thugs and tried to help me, thanks to that I became a Shimura."

Hamura waved away her comment. "If anything I saved those guys from you. I saw that kunai in your hand. You'd have killed those guys, and I have nothing to do with you becoming a Shimura."

Anko smiled at the modest act she thought to be uncharacteristic of the Monogahi boy but shook her head in disagreement. "Things would have still turned out differently if you hadn't been there and I'm grateful you were. Just don't let it go to your head baka. You're still my favorite chew toy."

Hamura grinned seeing something in her words she likely didn't notice. "Nice to know I'm your favorite." He smirked.

Anko's face warmed slightly and she looked down a bit to hide it before she looked back up with a smirk.

"Likewise, but I'd rather be a fireball than a chew toy."

It was Hamura's turn to turn away as his face warmed and he recalled Shisui's words from a short while ago. True he did have a thing for fire and it was his favorite element but he hadn't been thinking of that when he came up with the nickname for Anko.

The small crowd of nosy samaritans dispersed seeing the argument had come to an end. A number of married men wished the boy luck with that one, she looked like the fiery type. A number of women wished Anko luck, her boyfriend looked like he was stubborn. Little did any of them know the two were only friends.

Since nothing else needed to be said between the two they both stood there wondering exactly how much they meant to the other person.

Anko didn't think she liked Hamura but she knew she cared about him more than she did for anyone else other than Imari and Inoha. She chalked it up to gratitude for his kindness and patience with her on the night they meant. She liked arguing with him, that much was for certain.

She didn't know why she held him at such value when she hardly cared for anyone but at the least she figured he at least saw her as a friend.

Hamura didn't think he liked Anko although he didn't find the girl to be very pretty. He knew he considered her a friend and he always wondered how she was doing when she wasn't around but he only chalked it up to curiousity into a friend's well being. He found the arguments she casually started with him to be tiring mostly but he still liked being around her.

He didn't know what it was about Anko that endeared her to him. They hardly knew each other and argued more than anything but he knew without a doubt that she was one of his best friends.

"Want to go get something to eat?" Hamura asked feeling a bit odd speaking to Anko for any reason other than to argue.

"Y-Yea..." Anko said surprised he'd asked. "Let's get Dangos." She said after a moment.

Hamura groaned figuring he should've seen that coming but he didn't bother insisting on anything else because he knew she'd never relent anyway. Anko noticed him groan and she couldn't help laughing at his attitude. No doubt he'd been thinking something in the way of barbecue when he extended an offer to eat.

Although he'd groaned he really didn't mind too much. Grabbing some dango with Anko beat the hell out of getting his pride destroyed in a spare with his brother or his sensei anyday.

 **Uchiha compound-8:21pm**

Shisui sighed hating attending these things. He understood that one day both he and Itachi would earn themselves a true place in this room but at the moment they were currently too young to have their vote count for anything.

Of course as hier to the clan Itachi was expected to attend to prepare himself for when he would preside over these meetings and as head of his household after his father's death, Shisui was expected to do the same, but then they were just so booring. Shisui would actually rather be getting his ass kicked by his sensei right now.

Itachi had similar thoughts to Shisui about the meetings but his thoughts focused more on the fact that collectively everyone in the room made up the voice of the Uchiha. How was the clan expected to get anything done when everyone was so busy trying to make their points known that they gave no thought towards the points made by others.

He knew his father allowed the clansmen to argue among themselves because in doing so it alleviated tension and gave him ideas, but to Itachi it just all seemed rather pointless. Why was it they all felt the need to argue rather then calmly debating about things and taking each othera views into consideration. It was far from his first time attending a clan meeting but he was beginning to think if all of them proceeded like this he'd rather be taking a beating from his sensei during these moments.

Hatsue was pretty much on the same wavelength as the two but just on a different frequency. She was honored to have been granted the privilege to sit in on the meeting. The Uchiha clan possessed upwards of three hundred members and just under fifty individuals sat in this room.

While she was capable of voicing her thoughts and opinions she wasn't actually allowed to caste her vote into matters considering she was only here at the request of Fugaku, to serve as an advisor of sorts. Even though advisor was the role she'd been given she said very little throughout the whole meeting. As far as she was concerned the so called 'leaders of the clan' were fools who needed to stop focusing on themselves and what they wanted so much.

If the room actually came together with some semblance of unity and understanding a true agreement of sorts could be reached. Really she didn't even understand why they were arguing. Fugaku had finally say in everything anyway. It was less of a debate and more like a pissing contest in which every Uchiha in the room wanted to prove themselves or their idea's superior over the others, it was always about power for them.

She was glad she sat to the left of Fugaku rather than with the others. She felt sorry for Shisui and Itachi, both of them looked as if they'd rather be someplace else at the moment. She'd left her squad just after completion of their latest mission to attend this meeting. She was beginning to think it would've been best to give an excuse later as to why she couldn't come although she'd have felt guilty when she faced Fugaku later.

Although Fugaku seemingly just kept his gaze forward and unmoving he observed the entire room over and over again with every passing second.

Itachi and Shisui were doing great at hiding it but the two both had their fill of tonight's meeting already and by usual standards it had hardly even started yet. To the casual observer who didn't know them the boys were ditfully paying attention to the matters of discussion being debated around them, but Fugaku knew them too well to miss it.

His intention wasn't to bore or torment them as usually no one under the age of twelve or fourteen would attend these meetings. His intention was to prepare the two young prodigies for the future of the Uchiha in which he was sure they'd both play a big part.

His advisors sat to his right, both appeared to be placid about the situation but Fugaku could see a ghost of a smile playing at their lips as they observed their brothers argue among one another. The two weren't exactly the type to feed off such things but they both definitely felt as if this was how matters were meant to be debated upon by the clan.

Fugaku didn't feel such a way but he knew he'd governed the clan in the same way for too long to begin attempting to make changes. It'd only bring rise to questions of his leadership.

Hatsue sat to his left appearing to be entirely calm but he could tell by how her hand constantly gripped at the sleeve of her kimono she was somewhat tired of the meeting as well. A number of the elders and clansmen in general had openly spoken against her presence but much to his satisfaction most of the room accepted her with open arms.

While she wasn't liked very much among the more prestigious of the Uchiha, she had certainly earned their respect. It was entirely possible that a number of them had seen something like this coming. She'd obviously proved herself an asset time and time again. It didn't make sense to treat her as just your average Uchiha.

Fugaku hadn't actually made her something of an unofficial advisor just as a way to reward her service though. After some consideration the clan head had decided it would be within his best interest to remove Korin and Teyaki Uchiha from their position as his advisors. (These two are canon but I don't remember their real name)

The two were both exceptional shinobi and had served him as well as he could have hoped for over the years. However the two often took matters into their own hands when they felt strongly about something.

Years ago when Kakashi Hatake was gifted a sharingan by Obito Uchiha Fugaku instructed the clan to leave the boy alone as a favor to the deceased Obito who he'd heard had fought valiantly up until his last breath. (Canon)

Regardless of his order, Korin and Teyaki still set out to have the boy assassinated and retrieve the eye. Fugaku had discovered this and brought a stop to their scheme. He let them off the hook only because they'd been acting with the clans best interest in heart. (Not a canon event far as I know, it just fits in where I'm going with this chapter)

He'd gotten past that the moment he decided to forgive them, but months ago when whispers of a coup and resentment towards village leadership was growing within the Uchiha, the two only stoked the flames and heavily endorsed the idea for a coup despite knowing Fugaku was opposed to the idea. (Canon)

While the two advisors always acted with the interest of the clan in mind Fugaku wasn't one to constantly be undermined by those who were supposed to hold more loyalty towards him than anyone else, his own right hands.

He'd forgiven them once but at this point he'd be a fool to believe they wouldn't go against him again should they feel like it.

Hatsue was an Uchiha he knew wouldn't go against him unless there was no doubt what so ever that he was completely wrong about a certain decision.

The woman was both humble and respectful enough not to overstep her bonds, while being courageous and outspoken enough to make her thoughts known if needed.

She was both skilled and intelligent, which were the only requirements needed of an advisor. Fugaku could see her fitting into the role well and when Itachi's day came to take his place as clan head, with her and Shisui at his side as advisors who knew what the three could accomplish.

The only reason Fugaku hadn't yet relieved Korin and Teyaki of their positions was because he'd need to find an immediate replacement and the clan wasn't yet ready for a half blood to take up such an important position.

Korin and Teyaki would likely use his appointment of Hatsue to raise questions towards his leadership, or worse yet attempts would be made on her life.

He knew it'd be best to wait for now and assign her the position of an unofficial advisor so that the clan could get used to seeing her in a position of importance. After Hatsue served as an unofficial advisor for a while and continued to serve the clan as she was at the moment, her promotion wouldn't come as such a surprise, some would even be able to see it was well earned.

A bit of time would also give the kunochi time to improve herself further. None of his clansmen were fond of handing over their power to other's. Teyaki and Korin would be sure to openly challenge her as a way to prove their own superiority and reinforce the idea that Fugaku had made a bad decision.

Usually when an Uchiha publicly challenged another Uchiha whoever lost would see a drop in the respect they were afforded. The Uchiha respected power more than anything and if his new advisor lost to one of his old advisors Fugaku would be the one who'd see the respect he was given dwindle rather than Hatsue.

He was confident she'd be capable of defeating Teyaki who no doubt would underestimate her skill. Korin on the other hand was another story. Fugaku really didn't know how that fight might turn out but he did have faith in the young Uchiha woman.

She'd conquered every obstacle set before her so far. He didn't doubt she'd continue to do so even if she didn't know of Fugaku's plan.

 **Konoha clothing store-8:25pm**

The Shimura compounds newest resident groaned as Imari and Inoha grabbed outfit after outfit and presented them to each other asking of their opinions on them.

Naruto already had seven pairs of at least three different outfits. He didn't understand why they insisted on so many different pairs of clothing, he thought seven pairs of one outfit was more than enough but apparently not.

The two were not only looking for one more outfit that'd suit the blonde but they had also began gushing over the clothes in the store and picking out new outfits for themselves as well.

Originally upon seeing Naruto the shop owner had swiftly told them they weren't allowed inside. The twins rounded on the man immediatly and Naruto had begun to grow fearful for the man's safety before he shakily relented and allowed them free reign to look around the store.

He hadn't made eye contact with Naruto since, and the blonde took great amusement in the fact people were so ready to send hate his way until someone like Tsunade, Kakashi, Imari Inoha or Hatsue's did the same to them.

They all became timid all of a sudden when they realized Naruto had friends in high places and unlike the blonde they weren't so kind as to spare the hateful villagers their wraith if they didn't keep their glares and their prejudice to themselves.

Although he really never liked shopping he couldn't help but smile a bit as he watched the two excitedly browse through clothes. He wondered if they'd ever went shopping before, or if the Shimura clan servants did all the shopping for them.

If it was anyone besides Imari and Inoha he'd already be complaining of the slow death that was approaching due to the boredom that was over taking him, but he was too grateful to the twins to do that so besides groaning here and there he waited.

He knew if it wasn't for the twins he'd likely still be upset. The two usually always had a positive outgoing demeanor that reminded him of his own. He figured that was one of the reasons they'd taken to him so quickly, like him they'd both lost their parents. They both only wanted to be loved, to be acknowledged, to have friends and become competent shinobi.

With Jiriya and Tsunade he felt cared for and appreciated but with the twins he felt loved and understood. The only other people he felt that from was Hatsue and Kakashi, the later of whom he'd always wondered about.

It made sense why the man had been looking after him whenever he could throughout his life. From what he gathered Kakashi was one of his father's students. He wasn't mad at Kakashi at all, he found he couldn't be, but he was mad at Jiriya and the third Hokage. The two could've at least told him regardless of if it was for his safety or not.

A few hours ago he'd been angry, upset, sad, and practically ready to renounce the few people besides Imari Inoha Hatsue and Kakashi who he thought had cared for him but after a bit of time passed he just felt grateful for finally knowing.

It felt as if someone had removed a blindfold and a weight he'd lived with his entire life. He could finally see things for what they were. He damn sure wasn't happy about it but he was grateful for knowing.

"Narutoo!"

He looked up to see Inoha waving and calling to him from the store counter. The rude shop owner was now folding and bagging the clothes they'd picked out so with a breath of relief he stood figuring they were finaly done.

He walked over to stand behind the two and Imari turned to look at him curiously before smiling and pinching his left cheek. He groaned and pulled away causing Imari to laugh and pursue him.

Imari's little game quickly turned into something of a none serious hands only sparing match. Imari was swinging towards Naruto's face and he was knocking all her blows to the side, getting a counter in here and there.

The two were grinning as they played but soon found their fun interrupted when Inoha interrupted the game by pinching Naruto's right cheek.

"Quit it! You guys are gonna make my face fall off one of these days!"

"But you're so adorable Naruto kun!" Inoha gushed as her sister chuckled from beside her.

"I'm not adorable, I'm awesome!" Naruto defended.

"Who says you can't be both?" Imari questioned causing the blonde to think about it for a second.

"Like every shinobi history book everywhere. Badass shinobi aren't adorable. They look badass!"

"Language Naruto." Inoha chided.

Naruto hmped and crossed his arms causing the smile the twins were sporting to brighten as they collected the clothes Inoha had already paid for and proceeded to exit the shop.

The shop owner stood in awe for a moment after they'd left wondering if he'd really just witnessed what he thought. Those Shimura girls had just treated the demon brat like a kid and he was acting in a way that'd suggest that was all he was.

The game the shorter haired girl had played with the brat had really taken him by surprise though. The two both stood perfectly still in the same spot taking swings and continuesly knocking each other's attacks to the side.

He knew without a doubt that the three had to have had shinobi training because he could barely even keep up with their fist and it almost seemed to be nothing for them to fend off each other's attacks. They were grinning the entire time.

From their little display he knew without a doubt either of the two would be fully capable of moping the floor with any civilians they got into a fight with.

Yet the kid was always taking crap from people when it was clear he really didn't have to if he didn't want to. For the most part he'd acted like a regular kid and the Shimura girls treated him as if he were a younger brother. He began to rethink the whole demon brat label slapped onto the blonde. Demons didn't have playful smiles or people who treated them like family, nor did they get embarrassed when their cheeks were pinched.

 **0o0o0o**

Outside the shop Naruto created six shadow clones who took the bags from the twins and began carrying them as they walked back towards the Shimura clan compound.

The clones all playfully shoved against and elbowed one another, pretending to be oblivious to the glare Inoha was shooting them that promised pain if one of them dropped their new clothes.

Naruto wanted to join in but he didn't want to take a chance on knocking one of the clones over and incurring Inoha's wraith if their clothes touched the ground. So he settled for bugging Imari instead since that was nearly just as entertaining if not more so.

"Quit it!"

"But I'm not doing anything." Naruto answered back planly smirking on the inside.

"Yes you are!" Imari yelled back knowing he was doing it on purpose.

"But I'm not." Naruto said repeated struggling to hide his grin.

Imari continued to frown as they continued walking forward. Naruto waited a few moments and pulled another string of ninja wire from his shinobi pouch. He thanked Hatsue for showing him how to use this technique, although he still couldn't say he was very good with it yet.

He sent chakra through the wire and caused it to run across Imari's face causing the girl to squeel and wave her hands around in front of her frantically before she turned to Naruto and shot him a vicious glare.

Unable to help it this time the blonde put a hand over his mouth and tried to stiffle his laughter. Inoha noticing Naruto was using Imari's fear of spiders to entertain himself couldn't help but laugh alongside him, especially considering Imari was all red in the face from outrage and embarrassment.

The oldest twin turned to face her younger sister, shooting her the same glare she'd spared Naruto. "You guys are jerks!" She shouted walking ahead of them and pushing past the clones to stand in front of the group.

Naruto and Inoha continued to laugh for a moment till Naruto got an idea and grew curious about something. "What is it you're scared of Inoha chan?" He asked attempting not to look as curious as he really was.

Inoha stared at the Uzumaki for a moment only to burst into laughter once more at the question. Naruto grinned seeing she'd seen right through him, but at least he'd tried.

 _"And Hatsue Nee chan says Naruto's an angel. HA! Imari wouldn't agree with that right now."_

"Just know you'll never know what my fear is Naruto, but I do happen to know yours." Imari said grinning at her favorite blonde.

"Oh?" Naruto questioned raising an eyebrow. "So what's my fear then?"

"Bee's, and seeing good ramen go to waste."

Naruto paled slightly wondering how she'd happened to come upon such sacred knowledge.

"H-How did you-"

"I am Anko's little sister/ Danzo's daughter, little brother. Imari knows too, and you better believe she'll be making even with you soon."

Naruto paled even further at the Shimura's words and he gulped looking to the front of their group and quickly shuffling past his clones intending to give a feverent apology while he still could. He was stopped when another head of white hair came into view.

It seemed like the world froze as the entire group came to a stop and Naruto eyes widened as he took in the sight of his step dad. He hadn't been expecting to see him so soon.

"Naruto...I think I owe you an explana-"

"Save it." The blonde answered coldly as he felt his anger return and his mood quickly plummet again.

He planned on getting answers from him the Hokage Tsunade and Kakashi as well but not at the moment. He didn't even want to see the toad sage right now. He continued walking, moving past Jiriya without a second glance, leaving the man stunned by the ice in the usual cheery voice of his Godson.

The shadow clones also sharing in their masters emotions didn't need to be told who to follow. As soon as Naruto passed the man and began walking away they were right behind him.

Imari and Inoha looked at the man and took in the look of shock and hurt etched onto his features and nearly felt bad for what they'd done but only nearly felt bad. This man had plenty of opportunities to tell Naruto what he deserved to know but had decided not to do so.

They'd only done what they thought in their mind's to be the fair thing for Naruto and also the right thing to do. Without preamble they quickly moved to follow behind the Uzumaki and his clones. They hoped his mood hadn't declined too much after running into the man, who besides the third Hokage, he likely felt betrayed by the most.

It didn't matter though as they'd do their best to cheer him up if it did, or they'd just be there for him for as long as he needed them to be. Naruto never deserved not to be told the truth and he sure didn't deserve the treatment he received from the villagers.

Jiriya stood rooted to the spot not knowing exactly how to respond. Judging from the tone of voice the blonde used with him nothing he could say at the moment would get Naruto to talk to him.

He knew Naruto was feeling hurt angry and betrayed. Really he knew he didn't deserve another chance to explain himself so for the next two minutes he stood there like a dear caught in the headlights unsure of what to do.

 **Hyuga compound-9:29pm**

Hinata inclined her head in a respectful greeting towards two members of the branch family as she was making her way towards her room to turn in for the night.

The two smiled fondly at their kind hieress and Hinata's smile brightened a bit as they did so, for the most part today had been a great day for the shy Hyuga. After the academy let out she'd come home for gentle fist practice as usual and for once she hadn't actually dissapointed her father.

During her first spare with her father earlier she'd decided to apply what she'd learned earlier in her fight wirh Naruto.

Hiashi immediately took noticed some kind of change within his daughter at the very beginning of their spare. Sometimes her style would change into something that was still the gentle fist but was almost entirely different from what the rest of the clan used and not only that, but for the first time ever Hiashi actually saw his daughter actually fighting with confidence in herself.

At first her planned on reprimanding her for not sticking to the standard version of the style as she should but as their spare continued Hiashi was shocked to find this gentle fist variation of hers didn't seem to be a defect or a hinderence at all. In fact it actually seemed as if Hinata was meant for this style, it suited her far better than the gentle fist as it was.

Most of the time during the fight she used the gentle fist as everyone else did but when she did slipped into her own variation it was easy to see the gentle fist as it was just wasn't really something she was meant to use. Hiashi wasn't even sure if she was aware of what she was doing, it mostly just seemed to be instinctive.

Hiashi had taken a moment to pause her training and ask her where exactly she'd learn it and he'd been surprised to hear she'd learned it today at the academy during a spare with Naruto.

He'd been more surprised to hear she'd tied with the Uzumaki in their spare. It pleased him greatly to hear she was on the blondes level in taijustu. After witnessing his battle at the Monogahi compound a few months ago he was sure the blonde boy was the most talented child out of his age group.

Usually Hiashi would have forbade his daughter from making any changes to the clans style but he actually found himself interested in finding out what she'd be able to do with this new style of hers if she were actually to cultivate and develop it further.

He instructed her to only fight in the way she was fighting and Hinata complied surprising both Hiashi and Hiaku with the styles flexibility and efficiency. Unlike the gentle fist in it's traditional way which relied on speed and precision this version relied on flexibility and precision.

Usually it was all about using your arms, shoulders, and torso to create fast paced palm strikes and jabs that'd overwhelm your opponent. Of course footwork was important but legs were only used to put more speed and range on attacks.

Hinata's new style used her entire body to aid her arms. Every motion was used, the momentum from her attacks were used to add power or range to the attacks that followed. Instead of parrying Hiashi's attacks she'd usually spin around them and use the momentum to counter. She could easily go from attack to defense which was something the regular style was definitely lacking in.

The old style and it's stances weren't meant to be flexible or balanced. They weren't developed with the slightest bit of thought going towards defense. They were meant to be a rapid barrage of precision attacks that gave an opponent the impression that they were fighting against a speedy brick wall that had the ability to disable you with one strike.

Hinata's style was more like a constant flow of compromising attacks that gave the impression you were fighting against something of a flexible tornado, or a stream or a river that was constantly moving against you.

Although it was a bit unrefined and definitely looked to need more work Hiashi was able to see great potential in the style and for one of the first times since Hinata had been born he found himself smiling at her in genuine pride and fondness.

He instructed her to keep her new style a secret from the rest of the clan as others wouldn't take so well to someone making changes to one of the clans oldest and greatest assets. It'd be like someone experimenting with Hyuga genetics in an effort to change the byakugan.

He encouraged her to cultivate and develop the style further and Hinata happily agreed having not even been conscious of what she was doing till her father pointed it out. She figured she'd unconsciously began adapting the gentle fist to better suit herself during her spare with Naruto because she'd really wanted to win.

She'd been unconsciously slipping into it as she fought her father because the moment she entered the training room she swore to herself she'd try her best and give no thought to knowing she wouldn't be able to win.

Hiashi was pleased to see she was beginning to find her confidence in battle and proceeded to train with her for the rest of the day, giving advice on her technique here and there rather than showing displeasure as he usually did when he was drilling her on the regular method of using the gentle fist and she couldn't get it right.

Hiaku watched the two all day, sitting on a mat one of the servents laid out for her in Hiashi's personal training room. She felt like she was falling in love with her husband all over again as she saw the pride and even excitement that shone in Hiashi's eyes as he helped their daughter to develop her new style.

Her new little sister Hanabi even seemed interested in watching her sister as she hadn't taken her eyes from the two for hours, eventually falling asleep watching her father helping her sister improve.

Hinata felt like she could take on anyone at the moment. She'd tied with Naruto earlier, she'd impressed her father and he'd even expressed a desire for her to develop her variant of the gentle fist into a style all it's own. She was set to begin ninjustu training under lord Nubutaka soon and her mother and her little sister were both as healthy as anyone thought they should be.

She really couldn't wait to tell Anko and thank her for her help in the confidence department. The Shimura girl was sure to continuesly pressed the fact that if she came into a battle with no confidence it was practically the same as coming into a battle and resigning herself to a lose.

She'd been working on her confidence but she hadn't really been able to fully focus on just winning instead of thinking she couldn't until her earlier battle with Naruto. She hadn't even noticed she'd been doing the same with Hiashi until he'd questioned her about it then proceeded to ask about her day.

The blonde boy that always seemed to make her heart speed up had unknowingly taught her how to focus on fighting rather than on the fact that she couldn't win against most of the people she usually fought against.

She stepped into her room wondering how she could thank him, completely unaware of the figure inside who waited until she pulled the door closed and swiftly moved from one of the shadows placing a hand to her mouth and a kunai to her throat.

Hinata's eyes widened immediately and her first instinct was to scream, instead though she raised a foot and brought it down hard on her asaliants foot earning herself the satisfying sound of a sharp intake of breath at the pain she inflicted.

The hands around her loosened oh so slightly but it was just enough. Hinata grabbed the intruders arm and shifted her weight, pulling their arm over her shoulder and pulling them forward with it. She bent over slightly using her body to pick the person up and flip them over her shoulder.

With one hand still holding onto the intruders arm she quickly moved her fist towards the dark figures throat, planting her foot into the figures back ensuring they couldn't stand, and holding their arm in a way that'd break it at the elbow if her attacker tried to move in any direction but towards her.

The juuken strike hovering over their throat was all the insurance she needed to know that was a move they'd be unlikely to make.

Just as she was in the process of registering her victory the figure moved it's other hand and Hinata's face was painted in surprise when she felt something she knew to be ninja wire underneath her left foot lifting it up and pulling her off balance.

The intruder was up the moment she hit the ground and before she even had the chance to cry out from the fall she felt a kunai to her throat again and a knee on one of her arms keeping it pinned down. The intruder was holding her other arm in place against the floor effectively cutting off any options she may have had to fight back.

"Not good enough princess."

Hinata frowned at the situation knowing she was beaten. She was too preoccupied with her thoughts to notice the window hadn't been open when she'd left, a very obvious sign of intrusion that would've put any experienced shinobi on alert.

With the kunai pressing against her throat she knew she couldn't even call for help in this situation, she knew she was beaten.

"Not that I'm unhappy to see you, but most friends just say hi when they see each other."

Hinata could see the outline of a smile in the darkness and her friend let her go, standing up and moving to turn on the light while Hinata lifted herself up and brushed herself off.

"I'm not most friends though Hina chan, and someone's got to keep the Hyuga princess on her game am I right?" Anko asked shooting the Hyuga girl a smile glad to see she was getting much better at defending herself against her surprise assaults.

"If by keep me on my game you mean nearly give me a heart attack everytime I forget to watch myself then yes." Hinata said moving towards her closet and hanging up the cream colored jacket she'd taken to wearing with her new shinobi attire.

"You'll thank me one day." Anko said throwing herself down on Hinata's bed and grinning as she reveled in it's softness.

A lot of clans and groups of people still used bed rolls and the Shimura clan were one of them. While she was perfectly fine with her bed roll she found the feeling of Hinata's bed to be intoxicating and reasoned if she had one she would probably find it hard to get up in the morning.

"No one thanks people for attacking them Anko." Hinata said smiling as she walked out of the closet and moved to her dresser to retrieve her pajamas.

Anko ignored the comment and raised an eyebrow at her friend who seemed to be somewhat different today. It was like there was a bounce in her step and an air of harmony about her.

"What's gotten into you Hina chan? Something good happen today I should know about? Naruto kun didn't kiss you did he?" Anko asked knowing that was unlikely considering the blonde had no idea the Hyuga was infatuated with him.

Just like she'd been hoping Hinata's face began to heat up and she quickly shook her head before moving back towards the closet with her pajamas in hand.

"So what happened?" Anko pressed knowing if she didn't bring Hinata back to the moment she'd probably spend the rest of the night thinking about what it'd feel like to receive a kiss from the blonde haired boy with the blue eyes and the endless appetite.

"I think I came really close to beating Naruto kun in a spare at the academy earlier. He changed his style before I could though, so I changed my style and it ended in a tie."

"Oh wow Hina chan!" Anko said ready to congratulate her friend until she shook her head.

"But that's not all, I came home for taijustu practice with my father and found out I've been unconsciously making changes to the gentle fist without knowing it. He wants me to make my own style out of what I've got so far since the style as it is doesn't seem to suit me. He says he see's a lot of potential in the style he's helping me to create and I think he might even be proud of me."

"I always knew you had it in you princess! You'll have a certain blonde I know swooning over you in no time if you keep that up."

Hinata chuckled at Anko's remark feeling her cheeks heat up and smiling before remembering something.

"Really, I think it's all thanks to you Anko chan." Hinata said exiting her closet dressed and ready for bed.

"Me?" Anko said looking a bit surprised.

"Mhm," Hinata nodded, "The past few months you've been really helping me with my confidence problem and I was actually able to get over it in my battle with Naruto and my father. If it wasn't for your help I probably would have never really felt confident enough to actually believe in myself."

Anko waved off her comment and gave her a smile she usually only ever spared her sisters.

"It was you who got over your confidence problems Hina, not me. You're the one who's responsible for your good day, just be sure to remember how good it feels. Confidence will go a long way to getting the things you what you want in life."

Hinata nodded promising herself she'd take the older girls advice to heart and sitting down on the bed preparing to ask Anko about her day when she noticed a piece of food in Anko's hair. She raised her hand and plucked it out, looking at Anko oddly and wondering how hungry her friend must have been to have gotten food in her hair.

Anko took in Hinata's expression and began laughing, looking at Hinata with a wide grin that lead her to believe Hamura was involved somehow. Anko could grin evilly when she wanted but usually when she adopted that grin and it was from ear to ear it involved the Monogahi boy, or Anko's chew toy as she'd taken to calling him.

"Anko chan," Hinata started in on her friend reproachfully, "What did you do?"

Anko waved a hand again like it was nothing and began snickering a bit as she tried to contain herself.

"I may have participated a food fight while the old man and I were grabbing a bite a while ago."

Hinata's eyes widened as the scenario ran through her mind with perfect clarity, almost as if she were there.

"So you threw some food at Hamura just for fun, he threw some food at you, and you two started throwing food at each other and the people around you joined?"

Anko started snickering again, this time clearly attempting to hold back her laughter.

"I guess you could say the people around us joined in on it but they might not have been really willing participants."

Hinata's eyes widened again and she found herself entertaining the thought of closing her window, wondering if Anko had come here to hide from the authorities.

"So you two started a food fight with each other and when the people around you started getting upset you started throwing food at them?"

Anko didn't reply for a moment but when she did she nodded, trying hard to contain her laughter knowing full well her friend likely disapproved. "They were asking for it!" She defended knowing Hinata was about to tell her how wrong she was.

"You two could get in trouble!" The Hyuga said wondering if Anko was just the type of person who liked trouble.

"We left right before the leaf police showed up." The Shimura girl said making a case for herself against the one Hinata was about to make.

"So you guys didn't pay for your food either?"

Anko got silent again and thought about it for a second before she started grinning even more wickedly that she had before, causing Hinata to sigh and shake her head at the Shimura's behavior.

"You two are unbelievable." She said skipping the lecture as she knew Anko would likely disregard it even if she tried.

"It was really awesome Hina chan. You should join us sometime if we go grab a bit together again." Anko said before grinning again as another idea began to take shape in her mind. "Maybe you can bring Naruto kun along and he can clean the food out of your hair when we're finish."

"N-N-NO thank you!" Hina stammered causing Anko to begin laughing again, but this time at the Hyuga's expense.

"So where's Hamura now?" Hinata asked wondering if he'd been as lucky to get away as Anko was.

The Shimura shrugged her shoulders and looked out the window. "Last time I saw him we were both laughing and running across the roof tops. We split up when we saw the leaf police trailing behind us."

"What if he got caught?" Hinata asked tilting her head a bit.

She shrugged. "That's not really my problem but he'd better not rat me out or there's gonna be consequences." Anko said with a grin that suggested a part of her was hoping he did give her up just so she could get even with him for it.

"Why do you like torturing Hamura so much?"

Anko seemed to think about it for a moment before she shrugged again. "I like messing with everybody. Chew toys just more fun to rile up than anyone else."

Hinata nodded grateful she wasn't one of the poor souls on Anko's victim list.

"So how was the rest of your day?" She inquired.

Hinata saw Anko look back outside of the window and her expression change for a moment as she seemed to consider something important before turning back towards her looking just about as serious as the day she'd entrusted her with the knowledge that her sensei was none other than Orochimaru of the Sannin.

"What happened Anko?" Hinata asked wondering if she should be nervous.

"If I happen to have learned something terrible about Naruto the likes of which you couldn't imagine would you want to be told, or would you prefer not to know?"

Hinata froze as it suddenly became hard to draw breath and her chest began constricting at the thought of something bad happening to Naruto.

"Is he okay!? Naruto kun isn't hurt is he!? Please tell me Anko chan!" Hinata said gripping at her friends sleeve desperate for information.

"Wooaah, he's fine. Settle down Hina...geeze you've really got it bad for the guy huh?"

Hinata let go of Anko's sleeves and attempted to calm herself feeling her face grow warm.

Though not as anxious as before she was still very worried. Anko wouldn't mess around like that so whatever it was that happened concerning Naruto it had to be serious. She kept her gaze to the side and her head down uncaring of her blush but more so embrassed at how she reacted.

"Please tell me Anko chan." Hinata requested again although more calmly this time.

She didn't care how bad it was. If it concerned Naruto so she couldn't help but want to know.

"If I tell you about it it's going to have to be another secret you keep from everyone else. I'm not even supposed to know and besides the Hokage, my father, and a few other people I don't know how many people actually do know."

Hinata nodded not bothering to give Anko her consent to keeping her secret because she knew the Shimura would see it in her eyes.

Anko nodded in reply seeing the unspoken promise written in the Hyuga's expression. She was wordlessly saying she was just as determined to keep this information a secret as she was determined to know it.

Anko smiled at the determination the girl could show when Naruto was involved and took a deep breath before launching into the story starting from the very beginning.

 **Hokages office-9:34pm** Danzo stepped through the door to the office knowing it was highly unlikely Hiruzen would have company as he'd probably be waiting for him.

Turned out he was right, Danzo stepped into the office and the atmosphere he was greeted with was nothing short of murderous. The Sannin both stood at the edge of the room looking like they'd been pacing around impatiently till he arrived. The glares they both fixed him with would've terrified an entire platoon of average shinobi but there was not a single thing one could say was average about Danzo Shimura.

The room was silent as her entered and he reached inside his sleeve pulling out a privacy seal and placing it on the door. He knew exactly what'd the Hokage had called him here to talk about. He'd kept the man waiting longer than necessary so that he might have some time to reflect on the situation from a number of different view points.

He knew without a doubt that the Hokage was furious as he expected him to be, but he knew the man knew that he was never without reason. So he'd called him here to explain himself. He'd likely already pieced it all together but of course he still wanted confirmation.

"Danzo." Hiruzen said after a long moment of tense silence.

"Hiruzen." Danzo replied eyeing the man in a way that said he'd rather be elsewhere at the moment.

It was currently taking Tsunade every ounce of will power she had not to rip the man's throat out and the only reason she wasn't saying anything was because she didn't trust herself not to if the man spoke to her directly.

Jiriya was staring at the man as coldly as he'd ever before stared at anyone. Never before did he want to destroy a person with every fiber of his being. Like Tsunade he didn't trust himself to speak at the moment. They'd wait till Hiruzen got the answers they wanted, and then they'd react accordingly, with or without the Hokages permission.

"Why is it you saw fit to divulge an S rank secret to Naruto knowing he was under no circumstances supposed to come in contact with such information without my approval?" Hiruzen questioned with an edge to his tone, the steel in the Hokages voice serving as yet another thing that would've intimidated most shinobi but served to have no effect on Danzo.

The heavily bandaged Shimura elder paused for a moment as if considering the question, his one eye taking a moment to flicker across the Sannin before turning back towards the Hokage.

"Due to the words of their fellow academy students my daughter's became privy to the knowledge that the boy was somehow seen as different in the eyes of the villagers. Seeing as they were already only inches away from the truth I decided to tell them upon being asked. I didn't expect them to share the information with the blonde though."

Tsunade snarled finding that hard to believe. "You likely expected that they'd wind up telling him the truth!" The Sannin accused.

"While I acknowledged there to be a chance leaning towards that outcome I can certainly say I wasn't expecting as much." Danzo said with only half honesty.

"What gave you the right to share this information with your daughters anyway considering it's status as an 'S' rank secret!?" Sarutobi snapped sounding greatly displeased and definitely more than a bit upset.

"The answer to that question is a simpler one than you'd likely expect. You gave me permission to divulge such information Hiruzen."

"Come again?" Hiruzen bit wondering if he'd heard him right.

"It's a part of the unofficial founding policy of my NEE organization. One of our initial agreements concerning it was that I be allowed to divulge sensitive information pertaining to various matters of importance to those associated with my organization, and to those who I know to only work towards the villages benefit."

"Surely your daughters Imari and Inoha Shimura have no association with that fowl NEE opperation of yours!" Tsunade bit not quite taking the bait. Of course Danzo would already have his excuse ready at a moment's notice.

"Of course if one were to look at the records they'd find no association between any I my daughter's and my organization, seeing as it doesn't exist. However that does nothing to change the fact that my oldest daughter Anko is now deputy commander of NEE and Imari and Inoha, while hands off and only special members are it's active lieutenants."

"That doesn't give you the right to tell them something so important!" Tsunade shot back feeling even more outraged that the man would defend his actions.

"On the contrary it does." Danzo replied calmly, knowing Hiruzen knew he was right and logically he could only disband NEE if this was something he was truly displeased with.

Danzo while taking a course action that could be considered downright foolish had done no wrong in telling his daughters since they were considered agents of NEE, he was permitted to tell his NEE opperatives anything.

Even if his intentions involving the situation were known no one could say the man had broken any law or code set before him, however Imari and Inoha had done so in telling Naruto what he'd told them.

Much to the man's credit though, Danzo knew with a certainty that this would not result in any form of punishment for the twins. Hiruzen always had a soft spot for children and he knew he'd be playing on that later the very moment he'd told the twins what Naruto truly was.

The room was silent as no one really had a way to reply to the man's comment. Even if he'd somehow done this intentionally he hadn't broken any laws to do it. Finding a way to punish him for doing nothing would be the same as throwing a man in jail because he upset you.

After a tense moment of silence in which everyone in the room just looked at Danzo Sarutobi gave a small nod letting the man know he was dismissed.

As Danzo turned and made his way back towards the door removing the privacy seal and leaving the office the expression on his face had been completely the same as when he'd walked in. Sarutobi knew without a doubt though that the man was more pleased than any of them could've imagined at the moment.

"You're not just gonna let him get away with that sensei?" Jiriya asked sounding a bit hopeful but Hiruzen already knew his student was aware that there was nothing to be done about it.

"He broke no laws by doing what he did." Hiruzen replied pinching the bridge of his nose and attempting to rub away stress lines.

"That's a load of bull crap!" Tsunade interjected obviously the most outraged among them. "That man probably set up this entire situation as a way to get his greasy little hands on Naruto! You can't just hand over Minato and Kushina's son to a man like that without a fight sensei!"

"Do lower your voice Tsunade!" Hiruzen bellowed motioning towards the closed door of the office that was now without a privacy seal. "While it's likely true Danzo orchestrated that entire situation he hasn't broken any laws or actually overstepped his bounds to do so." Sarutobi said sighing as he shook his head and attempted to gather his thoughts for a moment before he continued.

"Logically there is nothing I can actually do to punish him for the situation, besides disbandeding his NEE program which would only hurt the villages security in the long run. By law we could hold his daughters responsible but would either of you two really be willing to go that route against children? Then there's no telling how Naruto would react to that."

The Sannin were both silent as they absorbed their sensei's words. Within seconds it all became very clear. Danzo had just beaten all three of them at a game they hadn't even known they'd been playing. Without breaking even the slightest of sweat.

Tsunade growled and made her way outside of the office in desperate need of a drink before she hurt someone. Jiriya just frowned and stared nowhere in particular as he tried to find some kind of a loophole around Danzo's use of the privilege he held with his organization.

Hiruzen could only stare forward after Tsunade and then at Jiriya for a few moments before sighing and pulling a bottle of sake from his desk that Tsunade wasn't aware of but would no doubt approve of had she still been there to see it.

 **Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter as usual. If not please let me know what I could do to make things readily more interesting.**

 **Dialogue**

 **Al Kabir:** To all those who're enjoying the fic thank you for reading.

 **Kasuf:** Be sure to leave a review here and there if you see something that makes you wanna review.

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	24. Chapter 16 Part 1

**I never did look up Suigestu's age but he didn't strike me as being much older than Sasuke in the anime so since Sasuke is five here Sugiestu will be eight. I don't think that's too much of a difference. Eight is probably too young to be graduating an academy but I'm sure a village like Kiri has way more early academy graduates than Konoha, so we'll say he and his siblings are all early graduates. I'll give a story on how later. His** **younger siblings are twins and just one year behind him.** **Sasuke** **will be meeting with him later, as well as Jugo and Karin.**

 **Replies to earlier reviews at the end of the chapter.**

 **33K words**

 _The day after_

 **The Shimura compound-4:15am**

"Narutooo," A voice hummed standing in the doorway to the blondes new room. "Time to get the day started."

Naruto groaned and rolled over onto his side to face away from the door. "Just give me five more minutes." The blonde grumbled still half asleep.

Inoha's smile brightened and she stepped into the room unsurprised that Naruto wasn't really a morning person. She moved towards the window to the left of his bed roll and pulled back the curtain letting in dim blue reddish light of dawn. Naruto groaned and rolled over facing the door once more.

"You're lucky we haven't started your awareness and readiness training yet or you'd be dead by now." Inoha chided still smiling at the blonde.

One of Naruto's eyes lazily cracked open a bit to observe the Shimura girl who now would be more like a sister to him than ever before.

"Training?" He inquired feeling a bit of interest rise at her words.

Inoha nodded and sat on the edge of his bed to observe the faint reddish hue in the sky signaling the rise of the sun.

"We all had to do it and sometimes we're still tested. For an entire year father had NEE operatives randomly attack us around the compound as a way to make sure we were always on guard."

"That sounds horrible." Naruto said sitting up and stretching a bit figuring she wouldn't be leaving until he did get up.

Inoha shrugged, "It wasn't really so terrible. It kept us on our toes, especially Anko. You'll go through the same thing, but me and Imari will be handling that part of your training." She said observing Naruto closely to see how he'd feel about that.

"So since I live here now you guys are gonna train me like a Shimura?"

Inoha nodded hoping it wouldn't be too much for him. It'd only been a few hours but both her and Imari were already enjoying having Naruto live with them.

"Cool." The Shimura compounds newest resident said with a grin before jumping out of the bed and stretching fully. "So we're about to do some kind of morning training?" He asked after noticing just how early it looked outside. He couldn't recall ever waking up so early before.

Inoha nodded and stood seeing he was ready to get the day started.

"I'm about to go get breakfast started. You remember where the bathrooms are?"

Naruto nodded moving towards his closet to see which outfit he'd be wearing for today. Inoha's smile widened at his compliance.

"Do you think you'll be ready in forty minutes?"

Naruto nodded wondering just how early it was and what kind of training they'd be doing. Inoha left out of the room and headed in the direction of the kitchen.

The blonde was tempted to create a shadow clone so he could gain another five minutes of rest that he knew would inevitably stretch into more than five minutes, but he just pulled one of the outfits the twins had picked out for him from the closet and moved towards the washrooms as eager to start training as he always was, or possibly even more so than usual.

 **0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Inoha was sitting in the kitchen with Anko and a very tired looking Imari who after all this time spent in the routine of waking up early still wasn't a morning person.

Naruto walked in and shot the three a grin before sitting down on Inoha's right between her and Imari. There was a plate sitting there so he figured it was for him.

He stared at the plate for a moment taking in the smell of the food. Usually back at his apartment he woke up before Jiriya so he'd usually be the one to make breakfast, which would usually just consist of instant ramen and a few slices of pork. Never before in his life had he waken up to a home cooked meal. He'd been expecting cereal or something for breakfast.

"Naruto?" Inoha called breaking him out of his thoughts. "Are you okay? Do you want something else?"

"N-No, I'm fine Inoha chan!" Naruto quickly replied pulling himself together and starting on his food.

The twins both chalked it up to him being tired but Anko knew better. Her and Naruto really weren't that different after all. She knew the blonde had just been taken aback by the fact that someone had actually taken the time to make him a hot breakfast. He'd probably checked to make sure he wasn't dreaming and still didn't know how to react afterwards.

Anko could remember how she'd reacted the first time Inoha cooked for her. She'd been just as stunned and she'd almost even cried when she realized what she was seeing was real. She observed Naruto closely and saw the corner of his eyes were indeed wet. She could appreciate the fact that he didn't let himself get all teary eyed and sentimental though.

She observed the new outfit and found herself approving the twins taste. He wore a simple black long skeeved jacket he neglected to zippen up. The jacket had two orange strips running across the sleeves, and along the zipper but the rest was black. It had deep well woven pockets on the inside and although it looked to be casual Anko could tell it was shinobi gear. Underneath the jacket was an orange shirt with a black leaf village symbol on it and underneath that was a shirt of mess armor. He wore black shinobi sandals and black shinobi pants. The usual green goggles he wore were gone, making him appear a bit older, although he was still the exact same naruto.

Anko had to admit the twins did better than expected with the outfit. The darker colors and the absence of googles gave the blonde a bit of an air of maturity he didn't possess before. If no one at the academy had noticed him before they'd be sure to notice him now she figured.

The villagers would likely also give him a wider berth now as well. Appearance had a lot to do with the way a person was treated by others and Naruto's new appearance said 'don't take me lightly', where as his former appearance made him appear childish somewhat.

She wondered what kind of training he'd under go under her surrogate father. From now on one of her jobs would be assisting the blonde in his training and shinobi growth. She figured since he was already taking the extra curricular stealth and infiltration classes at the academy and he could learn all the justu he'd ever need from Hamura and Shisui she and her sisters would help him out in other departments.

 **0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

How many shadow clones can you make?" Anko questioned earning herself a shrug from Naruto who'd never before tried to see how many he could make.

Right after breakfast ended the four made their way towards the Shimura clan training field for the morning practice the twins usually underwent before heading towards the Monogahi compound.

"Well..what would you say you need help in training more than anything else?"

Again Naruto shrugged as if unsure before it hit him.

"My genjustu skills are none existent." He offered wondering if she could help him work on that.

Anko smirked at his reply already fully aware. "So are mine, so I definitely can't help you there. We're going to be focusing on other things. I want you to create five shadow clones for Imari, five for Inoha, and five for me."

Naruto nodded and did just that wondering where that left the real him. Anko created a shadow clone of herself and it opened it's mouth to speak addressing the blonde.

"We'll be working on your intelligence and observation skills, as well as your use of deception. We'll be using NEE opperatives to help you grow faster in this aspect of training." The clone said grabbing the real Naruto's wrist and pulling him away.

Anko turned towards the other clones who were all looking at her curiously.

"You five." She said pointing to the clones in front of her. We'll be working on battlefield strategy and tactics. I know you've got a good handle on that thanks to that battle you had with Jusino a few months ago, but it never hurts to improve am I right?"

The clones all nodded figuring it could never hurt to improve upon what they already knew.

"Good...Once I'm sure you all have a good hand on the basics we'll combine all three groups so you can work on your mixed unit tactics. Since blondie is basically a one man army his shadow clones might as well fight like one instead rag tag force of fighters."

One of the shadow clones raised it's hand and Anko nodded towards it giving ot the go ahead to speak what she knew to be a question.

"I don't get what it is specifically you're going to teach is that we don't already know?" The clone said earning nods from it's fellow blondes.

Anko developed a smirk and flung a kunai towards the clone that'd spoke. The Naruto's eyes temporarily reflected surprise and the same instinctual fear for it's safety that all humans felt in life threatening situations. True to the skill of a shinobi tranie with Naruto's experience though, the clone reacted in time, pulling a kunai out of it's weapon pouch and knocking the deadly projectile away.

Before the clone even knew she'd moved Anko was behind it with one holding one of his arms behind his back and keeping him in place, her other arm holding a kunai to his throat. The clone swallowed nervously causing Anko to grin and let him go.

"In a situation where a unit has been fully trained to react accordingly I would have never slipped past the defense's of the other four clones in that group so easily. If you start thinking to treat each others as comarades rather than clones your teamwork would benefit and so would your survivability."

The clones all registered slight surprise and wondered why they hadn't thought of that.

"I think I understand what you're saying." The clone that'd been attacked said earning nods of agreement from the others.

Anko nodded glad she wouldn't need to explain it in greater detail for the blonde to understand. She turned towards the other two groups ready to get things started.

"Your group will do kenjustu and different kinds of weapon techniques Imari."

The Shimura girl nodded and pulled her group to the side deciding to start them off with disarming an opponent while only weilding a kunai.

"Your group will do taijustu training Inoha."

Inoha nodded and pulled her group to their own section of the training field where she'd teach them how to hit and inflict the most damage with as little force as possible, how to break guards and establish a proper one.

Anko created two more shadow clones feeling a noticable dent in her chakra reserves, and the slightest bit of fatigue. She shrugged it off and and instructed the Naruto's under her care that it'd be their job to coordinate to take them down with taijustu alone. Her clones would only do blocks and evasive maneuvers. She knew Naruto's teamwork with his shadow clones were good, but it could be better. She expected this to be a good challenge for the Uzumaki. She'd help coordinate the group till they began to get the hang of it and learned how to do it without outside influence.

She didn't tell him but she was also planning on throwing a kunai in here and there. That way it'd serve as both a team exercise, a tactics exercise, an awareness exercise, and something that'd help to improve his strategy as well as his performance under pressure.

Five minutes in she threw her first kunai and much to her surprise the clone she aimed for dodged it.

Judging from the questioning look of surprise he hadn't been expecting that. She didn't chalk him dodging it up to luck though, she figured he must have heard the kunai's whistle. The next one she threw she'd ensure was completely silent. She'd hone his instincts and his intelligence along with his awareness and coordination ,then when she felt he was good enough she would sick Inoha and Imari on him to see how much he'd really learned.

She didn't expect him to be able to beat either of them one on one in a none situational spare, but if there was one thing she learned from fighting 122, and living off the streets, it was that there's no greater motivation than being placed in a situation where you knew the odds were against you.

 **Uchiha training field-5:02**

Shikamaru ducked under a swing and backed away, stepping out the path of another. A swipe was made at his legs but he quickly threw a kunai at his assailant giving them all the motivation they needed to dodge instead of following through with their attack. A kunai whistled, Shikamaru ducked. Hamura moved forward and launched a flurry of punches.

Shikamaru bobbed and weaved as best he could but the genin was must faster than him and he ended up taking two punches before a third struck him square in the jaw and forced him to stumble backwards. Shisui rushed forward and Shikamaru pulled a few shuriken from his pouch and tossed them his way hoping to slow him down.

Shisui blurred around the ninja stars and got within striking range of Shikamaru nearly a second later. Shikamaru had expected this and the moment he'd seen the Uchiha dodge the first star he'd drew a paper bomb from his pouch. He blocked Shisui's first jab and ducked under a kick aimed at his head right after.

Shisui spun and brung the same foot back around and Shikamaru raised a guard with his left arm reinforcing it with his right, still holding the paper bomb balled up in his fist. Shisui spun again but went towards the ground aiming for a sweep. Shikamaru jumped over the attack and quickly reached inside his shinobi pouch, throwing a kunai to knock away the kunai Itachi had flung his way the moment he jumped.

Shisui caught him with a fierce kick to the chest before Shikamaru had the chance to land or ready a guard after throwing the kunai. The Nara was flung a few feet backwards landing square in the dirt and clutching at his chest as he grimaced and scowled towards Shisui.

The Uchiha seemed completely unconcerned, unsympathetic, and uncaring of the pain he'd caused him. Shikamaru stood up panting and slipped back into a ready stance even though his legs wanted to just give out after that last attack.

He heard the wind whistle towards his right and he stepped to the side knowing Itachi had just thrown a kunai. The kunai moved right beside his face and disappeared, Hamura reappearing in it's place with a fist cocked back.

Shikamaru dropped the paper bomb he'd been holding and flickered away detonating it as soon as he was clear of the blast radius. The moment he reappeared he heard a number of whistles behind him, coupled with the sounds of foot steps.

He quickly moved away from where he was and Shisui flickered right in front of him launching a number of punches most of which were connecting and giving the Nara a hard time creating distance or avoiding damage. Shikamaru purposely took two attacks head on to created a shadow clone that rushed forward and latched onto Shisui with an active paper bomb in it's hand.

The paper bomb detonated but Shikamaru had no time to think as Hamura was upon him the moment he'd managed to distract Shisui. Shikamaru created another shadow clone behind himself that formed the rat seal and sent it's shadow after his immediate opponent. Hamura leapt backwards and Shikamaru threw a number of shuriken his way just to apply pressure.

The shuriken were all rendered useless when another set of shuriken knocked them to the ground. Shikamaru groaned knowing he would soon run out of chakra and he hadn't delt so much as a nearly successful attack against his opponents.

His brain was really doing him no good here. Itachi was just as smart as he was and with their sharingan it was childs play for he and Shisui to identify any traps he attempted to set up to sway things to his advantage. His taijustu skills were likely only average and he only knew around five justu, plus his chakra reserves weren't all that. Itachi had once told him that he'd do better as a mid range fighter but the three weren't even giving him a chance to think let alone gain some distance.

It was all a part of the exercise, forcing him to fight in a situation he could do nothing but improvise and attempt to fight back in, but it was bothersome as well. These spares had been going on for a while now and the only thing he could say that improved were his reflexes and his chakra reserves. He could survive longer against the genin but that was it.

More whistles, Shikamaru moved out of the way of Itachi's kunai but one detonated as it passed, causing him to stumble backwards and cover his face from the debris the explosion sent flying. He reopened his eyes and wasn't even surprised to see both Shisui and Hamura on either side of him before he could really regain his bearings.

The two began punishing him with body blows before he could even form a proper guard, at the same time he heard a kunai whistling in the wind behind him.

Out of necessity more so than ability Shikamaru sealessly preformed the shadow stitching justu in a split second when the genin provided him with the slightest bit of leeway. A number of thin tendrils of shadow rose from all around Shikamaru forcing the two away and knocking the kunai Itachi threw to the ground.

The shadows retreated immediately and Shikamaru began panting before he looked at his tormentors questioningly wondering why they didn't continue their assault.

Itachi spoke first, "You can do that justu without hand seals?" He questioned.

Shikamaru shook his head no and took the opportunity to roll his shoulders and regain his breath while they were giving him temporary reprieve.

"That was just a spur of the moment thing. I doubt I'd be able to do it again."

Itachi nodded his head expecting as much and turned towards his teammates giving them a look. Shikamaru saw Shisui flicker and swore to himself. Itachi threw two kunai into the air and then threw two more redirecting the first set towards Shikamaru. Shisui reappeared behind him locking his arms over his shoulders and catching him in a full nelson. Time slowed down for the Nara as the kunai speed towards him while he was trapped in place.

With the same rush of adrenaline and an even greater feeling of necessity than before Shikamaru molded his chakra and threw all of his focus into manipulating his shadow in a certain way. Two tendrils of shadow rose from his, knocking the kunai away, and two more rose forcing Shisui to let him go and flicker away least he receive two dangerous puncture wounds.

Shikamaru collapsed onto his knees feeling the after effects of running through chakra like he was. He turned towards the genin with a look of unhidden irritation. Hamura and Shisui were both grinning like he'd just made them proud while Itachi nodded towards him with a look of approval.

"Remember the necessity you felt that allowed you to sealessly preform the justu. Remember the amount of focus you required and practice using it in the heat of the moment."

Shikamaru didn't reply or give any indication that he'd heard Itachi. In truth a part of him enjoyed these training sessions although the time at which they were held was more than a little bothersome, not to mention the fights themselves. While he'd rather not do either he could say he preferred morning spares to morning exercise. At least he could test himself this way and improve at a faster rate.

Lasting more than five minutes against these three was a test of will, intelligence, endurance, and skill the likes of which he'd never been faced with before. He'd rather be sleeping in the early parts of the morning, or any time of day for that matter, but he wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. Three of the most talented genin from the generation ahead of his wanted to train him, and it's not like he really had a choice in the matter anyway so he might as well make the most of it.

The three didn't make any move to attack him again and Shikamaru let his guard down fully. He fell forward and didn't bother picking himself up as he did so, the dirt felt so good and he was so tired.

The three observed the Nara for a moment and wondered how someone so intelligent could be so unmotivated. When he began snoring a couple of seconds after he hit the ground Shisui and Hamura couldn't help laughing while Itachi began to wonder if Konoha was the only place in the elemental nations with so many eccentric shinobi.

 **West Konoha Forest-5:16am**

If you were to ask most of Konoha's citizens what they thought of the village of Iwa most of them would reply to the question with disgust. Iwa wasn't even something most leaf villagers liked to talk about or even acknowledge existed.

Kumo had always been a rival of sorts, but Iwa...Iwa and Konoha were bitter enemies. Both sides hated the other for various reasons although if you asked Iwa they would swear that Konoha were the one's who'd initially wronged them and lead to the ongoing blood feud between the two villages.

Iwa really didn't get along with any of the other villages, unlike Kumo who'd formed an alliance with Kiri for the assault on Uzushio. The alliance lasted all the way up until the mist pulled all their troops back from the land of rain during the third great ninja war. Kumo believed they'd been about to go support their troops at the land of fires eastern border, but instead Kiri marched half their army directly towards Kumo's doorstep, and the other half through the land of rain toward the border of rock country.

Kumo pulled half their troops back from the land of rain and completely abandoned their assault on the eastern border of the land of fire so that they could properly defend their home against Kiri's surprise assault. Meanwhile Kiri shinobi donning the headbands of dead Kumo nin began raising hell within the borders of the land of stone.

Needless to say Iwa didn't take well to this and they retaliated against Kumo's remaining forces within the land of rain with extreme prejudice, unaware that Kiri was actually behind those attacks. Once Kumo forced the remains of Kiri's army to retreat from their doorstep they sent half their gathered troops in the land of lightning right back towards the land of rain to respond in kind to Iwa's attacks which they believed to be unprovoked. They split the remaining number of troops and withdrew the naval forces they had assaulting the eastern shores of the land of fire and directed them towards the land of wave as a way to pay Kiri back for their betrayal.

Kiri though, with its superior navy, most of which had never left the island nation, easily sunk most of Kumo's ships forcing a retreat. Kumo called the ships back home and kept their remaining number of troops there to defend the village in case Kiri thought to launch another assault. The rest of their army was currently engaging Iwa in an open assault in the land of rain.

Iwa was currently engaged with both Kumo and Konoha in the land of rain, and Suna as well at earth countries southern border, and the northern border of the land of wind. The vast majority of their army were attempting to infiltrate the land of fire through it's western border, which required them to travel through the land of River to reach. They weren't denied however seeing as to deny the troops of Iwa passage through their land would have been a foolish move on the land of Rivers part as they would have just forced their way through.

At this point, after instigating conflict between Kumo and Iwa, and effectively weakening both sides, Kiri withdrew it's army and stepped out of the conflict.

Suna only stepped inside the conflict in the first place to assist Konoha and were currently only engaging in battles taking place close to them. This entire conflict started over land and clientele and the land of wind was mostly just one big desert. For that reason no one really wanted anything to do with Suna or any of the land under the villages protection anyway. Kiri wanted the land of fires entire eastern coast to be annexed into the land of wave, while Kumo just wanted their kekkei genki.

Iwa only wanted to prove themselves superior to everyone else and they'd have to go through Konoha to do it. Suna really had no stake in this war whatsoever but Konoha were their allies so they'd help where they could, and they currently had most of their troops assisting the Konoha shinobi in warding off Iwa's attacks on their western border. The remainder of their troops were attacking earth countries border to distract them from their assault on fire country, or defending from retaliatory attacks at the land of winds northern border.

Konoha once again found themselves in the middle of a conflict they wanted no part of but happened to be the primary focus of yet again. Originally Kumo and Kiri had intended to launch a joint attack which they did, only for Iwa to launch their own assault once they saw Konoha was preoccupied with defending from the two other major villages to really hold them off. Iwa hadn't counted on Konoha having assistance from Suna though of course.

Once Kiri betrayed Kumo and set them up to be targeted by Iwa, both Kiri and Kumo withdrew from their assault against Konoha for their own reasons. Kiri withdrew because their army was now too weak to really make a difference in anything after failing to take Kumo, which had really been their main goal from the start. Kumo withdrew because the assault by Kiri substantially weakened them and a prolonged assault against Konoha while Iwa were attacking their troops in the land of rain would serve to make them an easy target regardless of if they actually managed to take the land of fire or not.

Kumo ended their conflicts with Konoha in favor of teaching Iwa a lesson for attacking them for what they perceived to be no reason. They would've made another assault on Kiri to pay them back for their betrayal, but that would require a massive navy which they simply didn't have at the moment.

Iwa kept up their assaults on Konoha however, but just pulled more troops out of their conflicts with Suna to consolidate their numbers. At this point the only village still attacking Konoha was Iwa, so they pulled the troops they had defending their eastern coast back to defend the western border.

Konoha kept a good number of troops in the land of rain because even though the Iwa shinobi there were more than a little preoccupied fighting against Kumo nin, they were still launching assaults against the land of fires northwestern border. Even though things were turning in Konoha's favor Iwa kept up their assaults while fighting both Kumo, Suna, and Konoha at the same time on combined fronts. They were every bit as stubborn as you'd expect Iwa to be, but one had to admit they fought admirably.

Eventually Iwa began to beat a retreat from the land of rain, deciding it was unwise to fight three other major villages at the same time. They redoubled their efforts on the leaf villages western border, but much to their irritation Konoha was able to spare more shinobi to that front than they had before.

After seeing Iwa pull back Kumo withdrew from the land of rain. They knew an assault on Konoha would be pointless at this point and they needed to regain their strength anyway. Konoha had effectively won the war front within the land of rain but much to their dismay, as soon as they went to pull their troops back from the war torn land Ame's new dictator, Hanzo the Salamander declared war on the land of fire.

Fighting began on that front once again and somehow the land of iron had even become involved. The fighting came to a stop when Hanzo was fought to a stand still by three powerful leaf shinobi he dubbed Sannin for their efforts and obvious skill in combat. Apparently he'd come to realize something in the battle. Something known only by himself, but whatever it was it'd still been enough for him to end the conflict.

Iwa retreated from the land of fires western border a short while afterwards with word of the Sannin's exploits in the land of rain spreading across the land. The Tsuchikage and his council likely figured they'd be making their way towards the land of fires western border and it'd be foolish to waste more troops.

Suna had been intercepting and causing hell for most of the rock shinobi platoons that were sent towards the western border lately anyway. With Hanzo declaring himself Ame's new ruler, and protector of the land of rain marching troops back into that territory in an attempt to assault the land of fires northern border was far more trouble than it would be worth. They had no sound option other than to cut their losses and pull back their troops.

Thus the third great shinobi war came to an end, much to the relief of most. Konoha's relationship with Suna grew, and the village even began to develop one with Ame, while the relationships of all the other great villages decreased, which wasn't a good thing considering they'd all only just barely been on neutral terms with one another before the war.

While Iwa participated in the assault on Uzushio, they hadn't formed an alliance with either of the other parties involved. They only participated in the assault as a way to eliminate the potential competition the Uzumaki represented. Kiri participated of course because Whirlpool was the only country with a navy powerful enough to threaten theirs. Kumo orchestrated the attack as a way to both weaken the land of fire and in an attempt to get their hands on the Uzumaki bloodline.

In a nutshell, Konoha had bad blood with every major village that wasn't Suna, but they held more resentment towards Iwa than any of the other villages, and vice versa. This however was a relationship that was easy to understand, the villages both hated each other plain and simple.

Konoha's relationship with Kumo was similar in that it was easy to understand. To put it simply the villages were rivals in terms of economics, and military might. While neither village was very fond of one another they didn't really hate each other, they just weren't on the best of terms. Even now as the two were allies they were still rivals.

The sand villages relationship with the leaf was the easiest to understand. Suna was Konoha's firmest ally and the villages would always lend each other aid whenever needed if they could. Over the years Suna and Konoha had practically become sister villages.

Kiri's relationship with Konoha was of course the most difficult to understand as it was for all the villages. Kumo had an understanding that Kiri was their ally once only for the mist village to stab them in the back.

The minor villages were also pretty hard to understand but Konoha was now allies with Taki and they'd been on their way to forming an alliance of sorts with Ame till their leader was murdered. Frankly, now and even before the murder of Hanzo Konoha hadn't known where it stood with the village hidden in the rain.

So naturally when one of Konoha's anbu squads ran into a group of Ame shinobi not too far from the land of fires north western border they didn't know if they should attack first and ask questions later, or ask questions first and kill if those weren't answered.

A random group of foriegn shinobi strolling into another villages territory was anything but ordinary. For all they knew this group could be a task force assigned to infiltrate the land of fire and assassinate their Dayamio.

"Halt!" The squad leader called to the Iwa shinobi below causing them to stop in their tracks and look up in surprise towards the three anbu in the tree's above them. "You're in direct violation of shinobi code i-6 and feudal law 0.1.7 stating active shinobi of other nations may not travel beyond their borders without an escort from the land they seek to conduct business within. State your business, or you will be treated as hostile shinobi!"

One of the men in the group glanced towards the speakers anbu tattoo and the Konoha anbu squad took that to mean he was an ex anbu as only anbu looked towards one's anbu's tattoo when in search of a rank.

The only official rank within the anbu was that of the anbu captain, but the others still required some form of order which was why the anbu ranked themselves by colors. Red being reserved for the captain and his unofficial lieutenants. Blue being for those who commanded their own squads. Yellow or gold being back up field commanders, and black designating a regular anbu.

Grey anbu were special operatives who commanded no one, but only answered to the captain. Greys were somewhat rare, and the man looked slightly surprised as he gazed upon the anbu's tattoo noting that that was the rank this one was given, that of a special operative. A closer look revealed that the grey anbu tattoo was outlined with blue, meaning that regardless of this one's status as a special operative they were still given a squad to command.

Their rank had to have been assigned by the Hokage and then approved by the captain. Essentially all anbu were special ops, so when someone inside of an anbu force was labeled as such something about them was either special, or they were a special case. He wondered exactly who this person was, and what exactly separated them from most anbu.

The others wore black tattoos so he figured this wasn't a special unit of some sort or they'd all be sporting grey. It was a unit put together for the special anbu kunochi who'd just demanded to know who they were. It was pretty obvious she was the one issuing orders here.

"I won't ask you again." The leader growled from behind the bee mask growing impatient. "State your business, or you will be treated as hostile shinobi."

The man didn't appear to be visibly affected by her threat. He still wore a look of curiosity tempered with caution, but he stepped back allowing another individual to step forward.

A woman with long dark hair and uncommon ember colored irises stepped forward. She wore very tight, seemingly constricting leather shinobi armor. She bore a number of throwing knives strapped to a weapons holder on the front of her armor. On a belt that hung around her waist were a number of lethal looking daggers, and a few shinobi weapon pouches.

She looked at the anbu field commander with a look that was a mix of both curiosity and annoyance. She looked strong enough but if she were to guess she'd say the woman was only chunin or special jonin in rank, she didn't really have the air of a jonin above her.

While some anbu border patrol squads consisted of six members this squad was a small one consisting two chunin rank shinobi and one special jonin. Most people thought to be an Anbu one needed to be a full fledged jonin but that was only a requirement for making anbu captain. Chunin made up the majority of any villages anbu force.

Stern yet inquiring crimson red eyes locked with cold and questioning fiery amber. Hatsue had seen plenty of cold eyes before in her short time as a NEE operative as well as her time as an anbu, but something was different about these. It was like underneath that layer of ice was a destructive flame that begged to be set free upon the world.

While usually a group of chunin were a sufficient enough force to deal with or hold back most threats something about this woman told Hatsue that should things escalate into conflict none of her squad would likely survive. They could likely flee and get away as they were familiar with the lay of the land, but they couldn't fight this woman. Something about the look in her eyes, the way she carried herself, and the weapons on her person screamed 'elite'.

"Your business." Hatsue demanded again giving the trespassers one final chance to explain themselves.

The woman observed the anbu for a moment taking note of the fact that she was dealing with an Uchiha. She knew the woman knew she wasn't exactly on her level but she still demanded she explain herself rather than requesting which she found pleasing. She always did respect strength above all else, and that was something that wasn't likely to change any time soon.

Personal strength of will was just as good as physical strength or skill in her opinion, as long as a person knew how to apply both.

"My name is Yashiu...I hail from Ame as I'm sure you noticed. These shinobi here are under my command so never mind them. I'm here to request an audience with your Hokage, and Konoha's copy ninja, Kakashi Hatake."

 **Uchiha compound-5:24am**

Izumi woke and sat up rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and apologizing to Kuro chan for drooling on him like she always seemed to do, even when she fell asleep with the conscious thought of not doing it. She looked at the bird and began thinking about how it'd quickly become her prize possession in such a short amount of time.

When she'd picked him out of the line up of festival rewards she'd done it because he reminded her of Itachi in a way she couldn't quite place her finger on. She'd never expected to grow as attached to the stuffed raven as she had though. She no longer even used a pillow, the raven had taken it's place almost immediately after bringing it home.

Kuro chan was the best part about Izumi's day when she returned to the compound. Her mother was as loving as you would expect any parent to be, but truth be told they weren't particularly close. Having Kuro was like having a best friend waiting for her whenever she arrived home. She talked to the stuffed animal, she kept it clean, she slept with it, and she regarded it with a fondness she only had for one person in her life.

Sometimes when she would talk to the raven and it remained silent she'd develop a grin and remark to herself that the bird was really like Itachi in more ways than one. Having him was sort of like having Itachi in her room.

She paused and considered that thought for a moment. The thought of having Itachi in her room brought a bit of flame to Izumi's cheeks and she pushed the thought away before pulling back the covers to stand and make her way towards her dresser to ready her outfit for today, although it'd be no different than what she wore on any other day.

She wasn't required to wake up this early but she usually did so anyway to get a few hours of early morning training in before making her way towards the Monogahi compound, and then the academy afterwards. Sometimes she would train with Itachi during these hours, but he'd been a bit too preoccupied lately which she wasn't really fond of, but didn't really mind as that was the life of a shinobi.

Once she had her clothes laid out she remade her bed and proceeded towards the washroom to bathe and make ready for the day.

 **0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Sasuke never really woke this early although a while ago he noticed everyone else inside his families house did. His father usually woke up around four am sharp to head to work, and Itachi and his mother woke around a similar time for their own reasons which were unknown to him.

He'd forced himself to wake early with the hopes of having Itachi help him with his shuriken practice. No one he knew was better with ninja stars than Itachi, and plus he felt as if he didn't really get to spend much time around his older brother. Much to Sasuke's disappointment though, when he went into Itachi's room he was nowhere to be seen.

He quickly adopted a frown and moved to close the door till he saw a little brown object on Itachi's bed that caught his eye. He walked further into the room and lifted the object wondering if he was in some kind of a dream or illusion because this simply couldn't be real.

In his brothers room, on his brothers bed, and right next to his pillow was a fluffy brown teddy bear. Sasuke literally had to reach down and pinch himself to ensure he wasn't dreaming. Why would Itachi have a teddy bear? It didn't make sense.

Backing away slowly as if it might attack him should he let his guard down Sasuke almost felt a sense of relief when he entered the hallway and pulled the door shut. The world didn't make sense anymore.

"Looking for your brother hun?"

Sasuke jumped and whirled around coming face to face with a curious looking Mikoto who raised an eyebrow at her youngest sons odd behavior. Sasuke brought a hand to his chest and attempted to calm his nerves causing Mikoto's curiosity to grow as she looked at him with a bit of suspicion.

"You look like you've just seen a ghost Sasuke kun. You weren't messing with your brothers things were you?" The Uchiha matriarch asked in the tone of a stern parent.

"No!" Sasuke quickly answered not wanting to get in trouble for doing nothing. "Ka-san?" The Uchiha started wondering if he should really ask. He knew his mother wasn't one to miss anything though so she'd likely have the answer.

"Hmm?" Mikoto sounded re-adopting her curious demeanor.

"Wh-Why does Itachi have a stuffed teddy bear beside his pillow!?" Sasuke shouted/asked as if the world might come to an end because of such a thing.

Mikoto looked surprised for a moment before she began laughing at her sons question which didn't please Sasuke too much.

"This is serious Ka-san! Itachi's supposed to be a shinobi, not some girl who likes stuffed animals!"

Mikoto had to stifle her laughter but Sasuke could see the mirth hadn't left her eyes and she still seemed very amused.

"I like stuffed animals too Sasuke, much to your fathers trepidation." She said grinning a bit as she thought of Fugaku's aversion to the stuffed animal collection she kept in their closet. "Does that make me any less of a shinobi?"

Sasuke hadn't expected his mother to like the weird little fuzzy toys so it took him a few seconds to form a reply.

"Yea but...you're a girl Ka-san."

Mikoto couldn't help but laugh at her son again. He obviously was under the impression stuffed animals were beneath shinobi, but he hadn't wanted to offend her.

"Correction, I'm a woman Sasuke kun, and just because Itachi has one stuffed teddy bear that doesn't make him any less of a shinobi."

"Y-yea but...where did it come from?" Sasuke questioned obviously still having a hard time swallowing this.

"His friend Izumi gave it to him." Mikoto said resisting the urge to chuckle at her youngest again as he adopted a frown.

"Why'd he keep it though?" The confused Uchiha boy wondered aloud.

"Because Izumi is Itachi's best friend and it would have been rude not to keep it." Mikoto said leaving out how she noticed Itachi seemed to have actually become somewhat attached to the stuffed teddy bear, or at least fond of it.

Originally it'd sat on his dresser for weeks, untouched and unmoved. After a while though Mikoto noticed it's position on the dresser shift as if Itachi had just remembered it was there. A while after that she noticed he'd begun to leave it in his bed, right next to his pillow as Sasuke mentioned.

While she thought it highly unlikely Itachi actually cuddled with the thing or anything like that, it likely brought him some sense of comfort. Itachi was prone to having problems when it came to sleeping. Mikoto always assumed he was up contemplating the world and all it's troubles, and the possible ways they could be fixed.

Itachi was never really able to take his mind away from that topic for long, not when he wasn't with Izumi at least. She figured the stuffed bear had something of the same effect the half Uchiha girl had on her son because she noticed a while after she began seeing the bear next to his pillow Itachi seemed more well rested in the mornings.

For this reason she was very grateful to Izumi. Mikoto had been attempting to find ways to help her son sleep for years now, but Izumi had done it without even trying. In Mikoto's eyes someone like that could only be good for her son, not to mention the fact Itachi actually smiled when he was around her. The only other person he smiled for on a regular basis was Sasuke, and she'd been absolutely amazed the first time she'd seen him do it for someone else, and a girl no less.

She wished she had some way to show her gratitude towards the half blooded Uchiha girl for easing her sons mind enough to get some sleep without even being present, but there was nothing she could really think of besides being nice.

If it were up to Mikoto she'd have the two marry each other right now, but forced marriages weren't something that was particularly popular even among the Uchiha. Not to mention that the girl was only a half blood. No doubt there would be a tone of pissed off Uchiha if such a thing ever happened.

A pureblooded Uchiha of Itachi's talent marrying, or even dating a half blooded Uchiha girl would likely cause the greatest outrage among the clan since they were accused of being responsible for the nine tails attack.

Sasuke didn't seem to know how to respond to her last statement so she just smiled and went inside Itachi's room to add the clothes in his laundry hamper to the basket in her hands.

 **0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Izumi strapped her weapons holder to her waist and clipped the butterfly hair piece Itachi had won for her into her hair. She picked Ilaha up from beside her bed and strapped the blade to her back.

She said goodbye to Kuro and left her families domicile through her window. She knew Itachi probably wasn't home but she figured she might as well check anyway.

 **Hyuga compound-5:46am**

Hinata picked up her jacket, pulling it over her shoulders and zipping it closed. She briefly wondered if she was forgetting anything but her kunai holder was already strapped to her hip so she was all set.

She stepped into the hallway and began walking towards the large estates exit. On her way she caught sight of Neji who nodded his head towards her in polite greeting which she returned.

"You're up rather early lady Hinata."

She nodded her head figuring some might see that as odd since the academy wouldn't be open for another two hours or so.

"Anko invites me to spare with her in the mornings and I thought since I could use all the practice I can get improving my gentle fist technique I might as well take her up on the offer before the usual morning sparring session under Nubutaka sama."

Neji nodded his head commending the girl on the commitment she showed towards improving herself. The only people who usually woke at these hours were those with jobs that required it, shinobi, and shinobi hopefuls who were sure to train as often as they could. Although Neji wasn't particularly close to his cousin he was proud to see she occupied the later category.

"I commend you on your resolve to one day become a competent shinobi, Hinata chan."

"Thank you, Neji kun." Hinata replied grateful for receiving approval from yet another member of her family.

Neji nodded his head accepting of her thanks. He could say with a hundred percent certainty that his cousin and her mother were the only members of the main branch he actually liked, seeing as they didn't look at branch clan members like lesser Hyuga. Every interaction he had with the two said as much. Hiaku treated him as if she saw him as nothing more than a nephew, and Hinata was always just as polite towards him as she was towards others.

Usually he wouldn't really offer to help other people, but he'd come to appreciate how his younger cousin never actually acted as if she was privileged, or above others. He knew she'd always struggled with the gentle fist so he thought he could show his appreciation towards her and her mother by lending her a hand since it was obvious she wished to improve.

"If you need help improving your gentle fist technique I wouldn't mind helping." He offered completely unaware that she wasn't referring to the traditional style of the gentle fist. "I usually have special training with Nubutaka sensei during the mornings early hours, and I've taken up two extra curricular classes at the academy, but I've still got plenty of free time towards the end of the day."

Hinata's eyes widened as she looked to her cousin in surprise. The only Hyuga who'd offered to help her improve herself for her own sake rather than that of the Hyuga was her mother.

She nodded her head slowly a bit disbelieving till she remembered herself and bowed at the waist wishing to express her gratitude.

"T-Thank you Neji kun! I would be honored to have you assist me with my technique." She said feeling eternally grateful to her cousin.

It was no secret Neji was a prodigy with a better understanding and capability to preform the gentle fist than even some of the elders. It also was no secret that the prodigy usually stuck to himself and wasn't the type you would expect to go out of his way to help others. Hinata could see he was doing it out of the good of his heart, and for the first time ever she felt truly close to her cousin.

Neji shook his head at her action but couldn't help the small smile that grew at the girls action. Here stood not just any member of the main branch bowing before a member of the branch clan, but it was the clan heads daughter of all people, the Hyuga's rightful heir. Hinata was constantly displaying just how equal she considered the branch clan to be to the main branch.

Neji had never thought about it before, but he thought she'd make a good leader for the Hyuga. The girl didn't even act like a Hyuga, but if anyone could be a benefit towards the entirety of the clan and bring change it'd be her. The elders would no doubt make things hard on her, but it was his duty to serve his cousin anyway.

He could make things a bit easier on her down the road if the elders received his sword technique as well as he and Nubutaka hoped. Hinata was already looked upon as something of a princess by the branch clan thanks to her kindness towards everyone she came in contact with. Most of the main branch didn't think she'd make a suitable heir but for the most part everyone adored the girl, some just didn't respect her, and if they did it was only because she was Hiashi's daughter.

Hinata represented the Hyuga's best hope for a brighter future, and Neji decided he'd do everything within his power to ensure his cousin actually got to make a difference.

"You shouldn't bow before a member of the branch clan Hinata chan." Neji said placing a hand on his cousin's shoulder and causing her to look at him a bit confused when she raised her head. "It wouldn't do any good if somebody saw the Hyuga heiress bowing before a member of the branch clan."

Hinata tilted her head slightly and looked at him curiously. He said it wouldn't do any good as if it'd be counter productive to something. She always showed her respect to everyone as they were deserving.

"What do you mean Neji kun?" She inquired feeling as if he'd had some specific way of reasoning behind that statement.

Neji shook his head in a manner that suggested it wasn't really important, or it wasn't really important for her to know.

"It's nothing really...and excuse me. I've probably held you up long enough. Remember I'm always available to assist you should you need it Hinata chan."

"R-Right, thank you for that Neji kun." Hinata said nodding her head in gratitude rather than bowing because he'd said she shouldn't.

As Neji walked past her on his way outside of the compound she couldn't help the feeling as if something just changed between her and her cousin for some reason. It was like for a moment she'd seen purpose in the eyes of her cousin as he looked at her. She'd only seen that look in two people before. Anko, when deciding she would help Hinata with her confidence problem, and her father when he decided he would help her to cultivate her new style.

When Anko developed the look she'd quickly become the girls bestfriend. When her father developed the look he'd finally become approving of her, and even expressed that he was proud. So then what would Neji become?

 **Uchiha compound-5:50am**

When the door came open not too long after she knocked she grinned at the person she saw behind it only earning herself a frown for her troubles.

"Good morning Sasuke kun!" Izumi greeted wondering if the boy frowned at most people or if he just always kept one on reserve specifically for her.

"Hmp." Sasuke grunted giving no other acknowledgment of her presence and not bothering to greet the girl who in his mind stole the time Itachi could be spending with him for herself. "What do you want?"

Izumi didn't let the cold attitude faze her any. Sasuke had always been unshakably cold towards her since he'd first began learning how to walk. Really she just found it cute. The boy was very protective of his bother, maybe even possessive.

"Itachi isn't here is he?" She inquired knowing that even if Sasuke didn't like her he wouldn't lie to her.

The Uchiha shook his head no looking a bit sad about it like how Izumi felt. Apparently she wasn't the only one who'd wanted to spend the morning with Itachi.

"I guess I figured he wouldn't be..thanks Sasuke kun. When you see him tell him I said-"

"Who's that at the door Sasuke kun? Is it someone looking for m-" Mikoto's sentence went unfinished when she caught sight of the girl she'd just been thinking about earlier.

"Izumi chan! How nice of you to stop by!" She practically gushed. "You wouldn't happen to be looking for Itachi would you dear?" The clan matriarch asked shooting the girl what was probably her warmest smile.

"Good morning Mikoto san." Izumi said addressing Mikoto as she'd demanded she address her, with no honorifics. Izumi found it weird considering she was the most important female in the clan and mostly everyone else addressed her with sama. "It's nice to see you as always and I was looking for Itachi, but Sasuke let me know he wasn't here. I'm sorry if my knocking on your door so early in the morning was a bother."

"Nonesense..I'd actually appreciate it if you were to come around more often. Itachi might not be here often since he became a genin, or even before that, but you're always welcome to come talk with me about anything you'd like."

Izumi's eyes light up at recieving the kind womans offer for a second time. At first she'd just been thinking the clans matriarch was just being nice, but now she suspected Mikoto genuinely liked her regardless of her genetic impurity. It was as if she really hoped to get closer to her for some reason.

"Thank you Mikoto san. That means a lot to me." Izumi said dipping her head in gratitude.

" _Not nearly as much as what you do for Itachi means to me."_ Mikoto thought smiling at the girl.

"Me and Sasuke were just about to sit down for some tea. Would you like to come in and join us dear?"

Izumi looked surprised at the question before she smiled and nodding thinking tea sounded very good at the moment and it'd be rude to turn down the invitation anyway.

Mikoto's grin was blinding and Sasuke had to stop himself from releasing a groan. He couldn't understand why both Itachi and his mother seemed so fond of this girl. His mother treated her as if she was practically family, almost like you'd expect someone to treat a daughter.

The thought of this girl taking his mothers time and attention away wasn't as bad as when he thought about it being Itachi, but he couldn't help himself from wondering what was next. His own father praising the girl for something she did?

 **Hatake Household-5:54am**

A number of loud crashes came from downstairs causing a tired Kakashi to groan and open his eyes. The figure laying next to him chuckled and Kakashi fought the urge to 'accidentally' push her out of the bed.

The Hozuki siblings had needed somewhere to stay during the time in which their compound was being built and the Hokage thought it'd be best if they continued to stay at Kakashi's house since they'd been there for a week already.

It'd been a whole six months now and their compound was nearly finished but Kakashi was feeling every day edge by impossibly slowly now. As the three had gotten more comfortable in his home they'd gotten more comfortable when it came to fighting each other, breaking things, eating everything he kept in the fridge, and playing bring the irritation out of the copy ninja.

Kakashi was unable to fathom how with as much as he worked they'd still somehow gotten comfortable enough with him to make a literal game of seeing who could annoy him the most. He didn't know if the glass shattering downstairs was an effect of them starting up an early game, or one of the frequent fights that took place between the three siblings. He found he didn't want to know, he just wanted to go back to sleep.

More sounds of tussling followed by the sound of something else breaking. Kakashi released another groan and Amaris chuckled before rolling over to shoot him one of her playful grins.

"It's like they're your kids or something. Only they're practically all grown up, and when they fight there's generally danger and a lot of destruction involved."

"Don't remind me." Kakashi said reluctantly sitting up and shooting an amused looking Amaris a pointed frown. "Didn't the Hokage make it your mission to watch over them and make sure they behave when I'm not here?"

"Mhm," She nodded, her smile transforming into a cat like grin. "But you're here now and they've been waiting for you to finally get a day off. I figure you might as well break this one up."

"You're evil." Kakashi said pulling the covers away to swing his feet towards the floor and slide them both into his house slippers.

"I'm not evil." Amaris said sitting up and leaning forward so that she could speak directly into Kakashi's ear. "I just like seeing you squirm." She whispered causing Kakashi to shiver a bit as her words spoke to a certain part of him more than others.

"Just be lucky I've got to go make sure these brats don't destroy my house or one of us would definitely be squirming right now."

"Big words coming from the man who's about to run downstairs." Amaris replied laying back down and holding out her arms in an inviting manner.

Kakashi stared at her for a moment and pondered his options. Indulge himself in the pleasure of his girlfriends company, and the 'other things' she could provide, or go downstairs and break up the tussle that was sure to get out of hand sooner or later.

When he thought about it his house had survived the nine tails attack on the village, so three Hozuki children shouldn't be much of a problem. Worst case scenario they'd destroy all his furniture and possibly kill each other.

He pulled himself back from the edge of the bed and turned around to grace the kunochi with a kiss, freezing up when he felt the cold feeling of a kunai touching pressing against his neck.

"It's been months since we started sleeping together Kakashi. The only thing we haven't done yet is have sex and while I don't mind seeing as you're a very busy man and niether of us are in a rush, but I still haven't seen your whole face." Amaris said sending him a look that said she didn't like that.

Kakashi took in her look of irritation and smirked from behind the mask and leaned in closer ignoring the kunai and moving to steal a kiss from his girlfriend anyway. The kunai pressed against his throat a bit harder. Not enough to draw blood, but enough to get the point across that Amaris wasn't playing around.

"Take it off." She commanded willing to do it for him if he refused.

"Oh my...how bold of you Mari chan. Forcing me to undress. You wouldn't be planning on having your way with me would you?" Kakashi said wriggling his eyebrows in a way Amaris would've found funny were she not being serious at the moment.

"The mask Kakashi." She supplied knowing he knew what she meant.

"Take it off." She commanded yet again lifting her free hand towards it knowing he'd probably never agree to removing it.

A hand caught hers and her frown grew as Kakashi attempted to hide it, but she could see the ghost of a smirk behind that got damned mask of his.

"The mask stays." He said with the same finality as always.

Amaris grinned at his reply, not because it was the one she wanted, but because she looked forward to the challenge removing it by force presented. She looked forward to the prospect of the reward she'd get if she was able to actually succeed. If not then well...at least their little scuffles over his mask always lead them to a more pleasurable pastime.

Kakashi knew that look in her eyes all too well. It was excitement coupled with anticipation and he found himself sharing those feelings. He wondered if they'd go all the way this time, or stop themselves beforehand like they did usually. Either way she knew she would try her hardest to get that mask off, and Kakashi would try his hardest to stop her.

The Hozuki siblings were too busy causing their own ruckus downstairs to notice a similar one to what they were creating had started taking place above them.

 **Hokage's Office-6:00am**

"They did what?!" Nubutaka ask in shock disbelief.

Hiruzen repeated his earlier statements pertaining to how the Shimura twins revealed all the information pertaining to Naruto and his heritage to the blonde himself.

The clan head was silenced by the information. He really didn't know how the Hokage expected him to react and honestly he didn't know how he should react.

"I'm sorry Hokage sama, but Inoha and Imari aren't really my responsibilities so I'm afri-"

"I didn't summon you here to discuss any kind of punishment pertaining to your cousins. The girls were likely only doing what they thought was right, and I don't have the cruelty in my heart to punish them for that."

Nubutaka looked at the Hokages in surprise before his gaze became questioning.

"Well...what exactly did you summon me here for that required you share this information with me?"

"Your clan has a number of Uzumaki members here with you on Konoha correct?"

"Yes? One pure Uzumaki and four who're of mixed blood." Nubutaka said curious as to what that had to do with anything.

"Do you think it possible they might be capable of sealing away a taled beast if an unsavory incident resulting in the release of the nine tails was to take place."

"I'm not really sure...but I can inquire with them about it if you'd like.".

"That won't be necessary." Hiruzen said sighing heavily as he did. Really he was only asking as a precaution. "I don't know what Danzo's planning to do with the boy, and I find that terrifies me more than any other uncertainty I've been faced with during my time as Hokage."

Nubutaka nodded understanding where he was coming from. Naruto would one day grow into a force to be reckoned with. Danzo having the Uzumaki boy under his control was like giving a psychotic rogue nin an endless arsenal of ninja tools and telling them to go crazy.

"How has Naruto taken the news?"

Hiruzen smiled at this, but it was a smile that was short lived. "He's taking it better than anyone would have expected, although I'm sure he's grown to resent me and Jiriya for keeping him in the dark."

"I guess that was to be expected really." Nubutaka said unsurprised.

Hiruzen nodded his head wishing he would have just told Naruto so they could've avoided this situation.

"I need to ask you a favor from one man to another. There's no way to take back what happened, but there's still a way we can keep Naruto from falling wholly under the influence of Danzo."

Nubutaka pushed aside his thoughts concerning what plans the ninja of shadow might have for the legacy of the fourth to ask what exactly he had in mind.

"It's likely that right now Naruto considers only Imari and Inoha to be family. Danzo can manipulate this to his advantage seeing as the boy has never had any family before. In letting Naruto stay at his compound he pretty much welcomed him into whatever sort of family structure he's built with his daughters."

Nubutaka nodded his head following the Hokage so far.

"Over time Naruto would only grow more susceptible to Danzo's influence. While it may not seem readily apparent the twins are more like their father than most people know, and I'm sure they'd behind to rub off on Naruto eventually."

Nubutaka nodded his head in agreement with that, as he'd come to think the same a while ago.

"Should you introduce him to the Uzumaki within your compound however, he wouldn't just be subject to the influence of the Shimura."

Nubutaka developed a small grin at the Hokages plan. "I don't think that'll prove as effective as you're hoping. In Naruto's mind Inoha and Imari are already his sister's. I doubt anyone we introduced him to would be able to come close to the influence those two have on him now."

"I'm aware of that," Hiruzen began, "However it'd still be best for someone who isn't in Danzo's cabinet to have some kind of influence over the boy, and I can't think of anyone who might have a chance of getting closer to him than those who descend from the same clan."

Nubutaka thought on it for a moment and figured it might be worth a shot. Really he didn't think things were that serious. Naruto was a smart kid and he didn't think Inoha and Imari would let even Danzo go too far in his conditioning of the boy.

He already had friends in the form of squad twelve, Shikamaru, Hinata, Neji, Jusino and the other orphans.

He had enough outside influences to hold onto who he was regardless of what Danzo had planned. He could understand Hiruzen trying to take precautions though. There was never really anyway of knowing what Danzo had had planned and it paid to be prepared for most situations.

"I'll introduce him to them today once the academy let's out."

Hiruzen developed a smile and nodded his head in gratitude. He hadn't really expected the man to turn down his request, and he didn't really expect it to yield the results Nubutaka was likely thinking he did. He just thought it'd be prudent for Naruto to develop something of a relationship with the seal masters since no one knew how long he'd be avoiding Jiriya.

With the Uzumaki's latent chakra sensing abilities they'd be able to easily tell if someone tampered with the seal to a dangerous extent. Should someone tampering with the seal result in the release of the nine tails chakra the Uzumaki with their chakra chains and fuinjustu prowess would be the best people to have around Naruto before things spiraled out of control.

"So Danzo got away scot free I take it?"

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow at the question wondering if it was really that obvious.

"I thought so." Nubutaka said resisting the urge to grin at the man's cunning. "You've got to admit the man's a credit to shinobi who walk the path of shadow."

Hiruzen wanted to frown at the comment but he couldn't help it as the corners of his mouth raised into a slight smirk.

"Admittedly he is..I just find it unfortunate he constantly seeks to take certain matters into his own hands...but I guess that's what his organization is for anyway."

"Acting out of their own accord?" Nubutaka questioned.

"No." Hiruzen shook his head. "Handling the important matters regular village leadership has yet to see to, as well as the villages most questionable work."

"So Naruto falls under the important matters category the village hadn't yet to see to right?"

Hiruzen folded his hands together and looked at Nubutaka thoughtfully.

"It's not that his status as a Jinchiruki isn't something that wouldn't have been seen to eventually. No village would allow such an asset to go to waste, but Danzo apparently got a bit too impatient."

"You seriously think Danzo planned all of this out?" Nubutaka asked truly curious as to the Hokages opinion on the matter.

"No." Hiruzen said shaking his head once again. "I think Danzo seized upon an opportunity he felt to be highly beneficial upon it's discovery. He could have defused the situation entirely by ordering his daughters to drop the matter. Instead he told them knowing there was a chance they would tell Naruto."

"So you aren't angry about it?"

Hiruzen began laughing at the question as if he'd just heard the joke of the century.

"On the contrary my first thought upon being faced with this situation was personally finding and treating Danzo to an execution-"

"Oh.." Nubutaka said a bit surprised.

"-by fire." Hiruzen finished.

"Ohh.." Nubutaka said a little nervous after hearing the serious edge the Hokage finished with.

"So yo-"

A knock on the door interrupted the two and Hiruzen looked to Nubutaka not wanting to be rude, but Nubutaka waved him off considering they'd already finished what he'd come to discuss and they were only casually conversating at this point. Nubutaka walked towards the door and removed the privacy seal, and Hiruzen called for whoever it was to enter after the man stepped back.

The door opened and Nubutaka immediately locked eyes with a bee masked anbu who looked just as surprised to see him here as he was to see her. She moved past him sparing a short glance before coming to stand in front of the desk of the Hokage and bowing on one knee.

"Hokage sama, I-"

The sound of metal on metal rang from the hallway and an anbu came skidding into the room as if struck and pushed back by a strong force. His kunai broke off at the handle and the five anbu on Hokage guard duty at any given moment flickered into view surrounding the Hokages desk and waiting for the intruder to enter the room.

Nubutaka looked to Hatsue and could tell from the way her eyes narrowed behind the mask and glared towards the door that she was irritated.

A strangely dressed kunochi carrying a familiar looking scythe entered the Hokages office with four other shinobi standing behind her. All of them appeared to be from Ame but the kunochi was obviously the leader.

"I told you to wait at the leaf shinobi detention center as is costume for visiting shinobi without pardons. Not only did you disobey that order, but you assault one of my squad mates, and then burst into the Hokages office like the rules just don't apply to you." Hatsue growled placing her right hand inside her shinobi pouch.

"The rules don't apply to us, and we didn't just assault one of your men." The woman remarked nodding to one of her men who pulled the unconscious form of an anbu in from the hallway.

Hatsue's glare grew hotter and she pulled a bundle of ninja wire from her tactical weapons pouch.

Nubutaka stepped forward so that if Hatsue attacked he'd be right behind her. None of the anbu in the room seemed to be in the mood for talking so he didn't quite know what to expect. Hiruzen looked forward curiously as if waiting to see how the situation would develop, so Nubutaka took it upon himself to play the role of mediator.

"You do know entering the Hokages office without permission is punishable by death?" He said ignoring the others and speaking directly to the leader who shrugged in apparent insouciance.

"I have an important matter that couldn't wait to be discussed." She said practically ignoring his statement.

"You just broke a very important law." He countered wondering if this woman just had a death wish or something.

She scoffed. "So try to arrest or execute me then. Where I'm from the only laws that are paid attention to are the laws that say one can have whatever they want as long as they're strong enough to take it. I want an audience with your Hokage, so I'm taking it."

"You still haven't gotten pass us though." Nubutaka said reffering to Hatsue and himself.

"Oh really?" She questioned with the rise of an eyebrow.

"Really." Hatsue replied before Nubutaka had the chance.

"I was under the impression that attacking shinobi of a major village in front of it's leader was an act of treason even worse than just attacking one period."

"I thought the rules didn't apply to you guys." Nubutaka countered.

The kunochi narrowed her eyes at his reply before her lips pulled upwards into a grin.

"Well if that's how you want it to go down who am I to refuse?"

"You could just stand down and wait for bumblebee to give her report. I'm sure the Hokage would write you five a temporary pardon so he could hear you out."

"Oh but it's much more interesting this way."

Nubutaka shrugged thinking she definitely did have a death wish of some kind.

"Have it your way then... bumblebee." He said with a look towards the Uchiha who developed a smirk.

She waved her hands in the air and the Ame shinobi looked on confused wondering how she planned to use ninja wire to set a trap in such a confined space.

To their surprise the wire moved towards them as if it had it's own mind. Yashiu raised her scythe preparing to slice through the wires not wanting to take any chances on the unfamiliar technique.

As she and her group began slashing through the barrage of wires she saw something dark moving towards her and leaping from the floor. She raised her scythe to block a large tendril of shadow that slammed into her weapon with enough force to push her backwards, taking her off her feet and throwing her into the hall.

She twisted herself around in the air and came to a skidding stop on her feet. She threw her scythe into the room at the man who'd sent his shadow at her, but unsurprisingly he knocked it away. Two kunai followed and the guy flexed his fingers making visible a small barrier of ninja wire surroundings him and the Hokage's desk that she hadn't seen him place.

The kunai crashed into the wires and fell harmlessly to the ground. Yashiu pulled her scythe back and walked back into the office. Her men were still warding off a barrage of ninja wire the Uchiha was somehow pressuring them with. It made sense that she was a special operative in the leaf villages anbu unit if she could pressure for chunin at once with only ninja wires.

She hurled her scythe towards the kunochi but the shadow user caught it by the chain stopping it before it could distract the Uchiha from her movements.

Yashiu pulled on the chain hard and Nubutaka let it go least he be pulled with it. She grabbed the chain by a point that was close to the scythe and spun around as the scythe passed her, letting it spin in a circle once and adding momentum to it before she let it go, sending it flying back towards the Uchiha.

Her eyes widened as the scythe stopped in mid air as if captured by some invisible force. She turned her attention back towards the shadow user who had his hand outstretched towards the weapon.

"What are you?" She questioned never hearing of a shinobi who had both Yin style and Magnet release.

"Just a humble teacher of the next generation. Nubutaka Monogahi at your service."

Yashiu pulled her scythe back deciding it was too risky to throw now with this freak in the room. She pulled the other one out of her belt and frowned. Close quarter kenjustu battle's weren't really her thing, but she was already here and the Hokage was right there, so why not?

Hatsue was constantly moving her arms and fingers to shift her ninja wires around in a way that kept the Ame shinobi cornered. She was attempting to close in on them for capture but they always managed to cut the wires she'd surround them with.

She threw her right arm forward forcing two of the advancing shinobi backwards and she spun launching another horizontal barrage of wires. She felt them being cut when the chakra she was using to control them was cut short, but she continued her spin launching another barrage which the Ame shinobi prepared to cut through as well.

At the last second she raised her hand and the wires flew over their heads. She pulled her left arm towards her right before swinging it towards her left and sending another barrage forward. She pulled her right arm backwards bringing the wires that'd went over the shinobi's heads back towards them.

The wires out in front of them were quickly sliced up by two of them while the other two began slicing through the wires at their backs. She threw both her arms forward sending two more tangles speeding directly towards the group.

Unable to block the piercing barrage, or move fast enough to cut the wires the shinobi held their weapons up in defense but Hatsue spun before they made contact and the wires sharply turned swatting aside the two shinobi in front. Running chakra through the wires she lifted her hand and sent around half of them at the other two shinobi who were just turning around in time to notice she'd gotten a hit on their comrades.

Apparently the dark haired Ame shinobi in the back was faster than the others because he was actually able to slice through the majority of the wires, unlike the others who could only cut them when launched in a sweeping wave rather than a piercing barrage.

He still wasn't fast enough however considering five ninja wires still managed to pierce his body in various places. Hatsue marked one off her list.

Sending her chakra into the wires she causing them to dig deeper into the man, going so far as to penetrate muscle and imobilize his joints, then pulling him forward so that his comrades couldn't free him. She prepared to create a shadow clone to hold those wires and make sure the man would remain imobile while she re-engaged the others, but the Hokage called for a stop to the fighting.

All eyes in the room turned towards the Hokage, except for the shinobi Hatsue had dug her wires into. He was currently panting and attempting not to focus on the more than uncomfortable feeling of the ninja wires the kunochi had dug so deeply into his muscles he couldn't move his body.

Yashiu looked slightly disappointed as she'd actually been enjoying herself and Hatsue shot the woman a murderous glare when she caught sight of a fresh slash mark running from Nubutaka's lower jaw to his neck. He was bleeding slightly but it didn't look particularly deep. He was sporting a look of curiousity as his gaze turned towards the Hokage.

The shinobi Hatsue had been facing looked a bit relieved as it was clear they couldn't reach the kunochi and she would have over powered them before running out of ninja wire. The way their comrade now laid on the flower wincing and panting in uncomfort clearly showed the way she imobilized him was definitely an unsavory way to be taken down.

"Yashiu Saramanda, daughter of Hanzo I take it?" The Hokage said surprising all the Konoha shinobi in the room who knew there could only be one Hanzo he was talking about.

Yashiu nodded her head towards the man observing him closely. This was the shinobi responsible for the training of the three legendary shinobi who'd fought her father to a stand still.

"I have a proposition for you.. Hokage sama."

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow at this wondering what exactly the Ame kunochi who was pretty much a wanted woman in her own country had to offer him or Konoha. He developed a slight grin wondering when things in Konoha had suddenly began to take such interesting turns.

"Well then, considering you went through such trouble to secure and audience with me let's hear it."

 **Konoha residential district** **-6:12am**

Tsunade and Jiriya sat on the back of the large house's porch in silence, staring directly forward but looking at nothing in particular.

In between the two were two bottles of sake. One was entirely empty while the other was nearing the same point. Both Sannin had been at it nearly all night, drinking away there troubles, or at least trying to. Neither of them really knew how to approach the blonde about not telling him the truth. They ignored his existence for the first few years of his life in favor of their own selfish pursuits, and then he finds out they've both been keeping a huge secret from him. Something so huge it changed the very way the blonde reasoned with the unfairness of his life.

After Danzo explained how he basically played the situation to his benefit there had really been nothing they could do to deal with the situation that didn't involve swearing or sake. Hiruzen turned in early for the night and Jiriya knew his teammate wouldn't be turning in anytime soon, so he accompanied her home and for the past few hours they'd sat out back in silence taking turns pouring themselves up cups of the strong alchohol, which wasn't really doing much besides giving their mind leave to wonder more than usual.

The horizon glew with orange from the rising suns imprint on the world. The sky was purple with a reddish hue, leaning further towards blue with every passing minute. The chill of morning was almost sweet coupled with the warm kiss of the suns rays warming the air as it moved away the night and brung in the next day which neither of them were particularly looking forward to.

Tsunade took another sip from her sake bowl, sitting it down next to her after downing its contents and returning her attention to the rise of the sun in the distance.

"We're not wrong are we?" Jiriya questioned breaking the silence that'd lasted between them since leaving the Hokage's office hours ago.

Tsunade turned to face the man shooting him a small frown over her shoulder and wondering why he saw fit to break the silence with such a dumb question.

"No. It's not like we didn't plan on telling him at all. We were just waiting for the right time."

Jiriya seemed to ponder that for a moment, but when he said nothing after a while Tsunade figured either he agreed, or he really had no reply to her statement. She returned her attention towards the horizon and the two were silent once again for a number of minutes until the toad sage spoke again.

"It's like I already miss the brat, and it hasn't even been a full day."

Tsunade nodded understanding where he was coming from. Jiriya had been getting rather close with his step son. It was unfortunate how things ended up heading towards this direction.

"He'll come around eventually. Naruto's a smart kid. He won't just fall for whatever nonsense Danzo's likely trying to fill his head with."

Jiriya nodded knowing he should agree completely with her statement, but he couldn't help but worry at the same time.

"I hope you're right." He said turning to observe her sternly for a few seconds after his reply.

"What?" Tsunade questioned knowing he had another question of some kind. Either that or she had something he wss trying to identify on her face.

"When are you going to come around?"

Tsunade's breath caught in her throat for just a moment. Both her and Jiriya were more than a little tipsy although they weren't shit faced drunk. She could see the desire in the mans gaze, even feel it as his eyes meant hers. The question had been asked seriously, and her fellow Sannin even had a serious expression to match it. His gaze was serious, questioning, and definitely wanting.

Tsunade felt as if he was drinking her in with his eyes. Like he'd be perfectly content for her to sit there and ponder his question while he sat and watched her with what was clearly admiration and desire. She felt like the man's eyes were trying to captivate her heart and mind. Like they were trying to pierce her soul, staring at her in a way that just practically screamed she was the most desirable woman in the world.

She uncharacteristically bit her lip and quickly stood up, walking back inside of the house and attempting to expel the thoughts and feelings the Sage now seemed so adept at inspiring within her. She heard Jiriya calling after her, but she continued to walk away not trusting herself at all to be around him at the moment.

Jiriya watched her go and cursed himself. Was he trying too hard? Did Tsunade really find the idea of dating him to be that unappealing?

 **Shimura compound-6:18am**

Hinata arrived at the Shimura compound and one of the servents opened the door, greeting her with a respectful bow which she was quick to return.

Knowing she was likely here to see Anko the servant informed her that she was currently using the Shimura clans training field and Hinata nodded thanking the man for letting her know.

She already knew her way around most of the compound so finding the training field was no problem for her. She was shocked when she rounded the corner and stepped through the open doorway to see a field full of Naruto's spread into different group that were going about different activities.

There was one group that looked to be attempting to land a blow on Inoha, although they all seemed to be failing miserably as the Shimura didn't even seem to be breaking a sweat. She was smiling in fact, and couching them along as she blocked and avoided attacks as if rehearsing a dance she was more than familiar with.

Another group was going up against Imari with kunai in hand, and Imari proved to be a much sterner teacher than her sister. Everytime one of the clones made a mistake or did something wrong she would grace them with a shallow slash wound. Not enough to cause them to dispell, but enough to give them some serious motivation to get it right.

Hinata could see another group at the far end of the training field in the small forested area of the Shimura training field.

One of the Naruto appeared to be giving orders to the others who were all listening intently while two of them kept an eye on both their flanks to ensure the group wasn't taken off guard.

She noticed Anko sitting not far away from her and approached knowing the Shimura was aware of her presence, as Anko wasn't the type to miss things, or be caught off guard.

"Hey Hina chan." Anko greeted when the Hyuga came to stand beside where she sat. "Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not in any sort of condition for us to be sparing right now. I made three shadow clones not too long ago and my reserves aren't really all that since I don't do ninjustu training very often."

"It's okay Anko, h-how come Naruto kun is here so early?"

"I forgot to tell you?" Anko said looking a bit puzzled. "He moved in with us yesterday."

"What!?" Hinata gasped looking to the gathered blondes who were all completely absorbed with their training. "Your father was okay with that?"

Anko snickered. "He was more than okay with it. He see's Naruto's potiental...and then of course he'd want him around because of that."

Hinata frowned but nodded her head in understanding. She didn't like the thought of Anko's father using Naruto, but there wasn't anything she'd be able to do to stop such a thing from occuring anyway.

Anko watched her friend curiously and waved a hand in front of her face bringing her back to reality. "You really have it bad for Naruto. You're always spacing out when you think about him."

Hinata could only avert her eyes as her face began to heat up. There was no use in denying what she knew her friend already knew.

"Why do you like Naruto so much?" Anko asked genuinely curious.

"Why do you like Hamura so much?" Hinata replied getting a bit defensive.

For the first time ever Hinata saw her friend blush and she couldn't believe it.

"I don't like chew toy! And don't answer my question with another question." A slightly flustered Anko said averting her gaze from tthe Hyuga's.

Hinata could only grin at the way Anko reacted so strongly. It appeared the Shimura girl did have a weakness after all.

"Your face is getting red Anko chan." She cooed.

Anko raised both hands to her cheeks and looked down as if unsure what to say in reply to that before she looked back up and frowned at Hinata.

"That's besides the point!"

Hinata chuckled at her friends demeanor and remarked to herself that at least she'd come to recognize and accept her feelings. Anko actually looked to be quite confused. Probably wondering why she was reacting to the question in what she likely thought was a strange manner.

"I like Naruto kun because he's kind...he's empathetic and strong, but he doesn't act like that makes him better than anyone else. Naruto kun was the first person besides my mother to believe in me, and make me believe in myself. He saved me from a bunch of bullies a while ago, and even forgave me for not being able to help him or repay his kindness. I really like how h-

"Hey Anko."

Hinata almost jumped out of her skin when she heard a voice that was too familiar from behind her.

"Yeah Naruto?" Anko asked doing all she could to stiffle her laughter as Hinata's face went pale as a ghost.

"I gave your clone the slip so does that mean I beat that challenge?"

Anko shook her head knowing there was no possible way he would manage to evade her so soon. "You've got to really evade me Naruto."

"But I di-"

The blonde was cut off when a number of snakes wrapped around him and dragged him kicking and screaming back inside the compound.

 _"The snake summoning contract is more useful than I would've ever imagined."_ Anko thought grateful her sensei had taught her a few justu exclusive to snake summoners before he left to go take care of whatever it was he was taking care of.

She remarked to the Hyuga that Naruto hadn't been there long enough to hear what she was saying. Hinata's eyes followed the blonde being dragged inside the compound and she turned to Anko a few moments afterwards shooting her a curious expression.

"Did you just-"

"My clone didn't kidnap him..just recaptured him."

"Recaptured?" Hinata questioned titling her head a bit puzzled by why her clone would be capturing the blonde.

"Some people might see him as a valuable target one day when the details about his identy become public knowledge. So I'm making it a mission to school him on how to escape captivity and avoid recapture. If he doesn't completely evade my clone it'll just keep catching him again and tying him back up."

Hinata couldn't help but chuckle at Anko's messed up way of training people. She launched surprised attacks on her to keep her on her toes and she was tying up poor Naruto so he would know how to react in a situation where he was captured.

"Come to think about it Hina chan. I'm sure there's a bunch of people who would just die for the chance to get their hands on the Hyuga princess."

Hinata froze with the Shimura's statement. She attempted to swallow her nerves, but the wicked grin Anko was now sending her way was doing a fine job of making her nervous.

"Relax..I don't have enough chakra right now to kidnap you, and my clones already preoccupied with Naruto."

Hinata breathed a sigh of relief till she felt a kunai pressed against her throat and a hand clamp down over her mouth. She attempted to react quickly as Anko had taught her but before she could two snakes came from behind wrapping around her hands.

"Shouldn't have let your guard down princess." Anko's voice sounded from behind her with an audible grin to it. "Deception is a shinobi's greatest skill after all."

 **Uchiha compound-6:22am**

Mikoto listened intently as Izumi described her progress in kenjustu. When she began to recall the spare she'd had with Neji yesterday Sasuke became a bit jealous at how much his mother seemed to be fawning over the girl. Everyone around him had something that made them special.

Itachi was a genius by all rights, Shisui was just a prodigy of battle, Naruto was a walking reserve of endless chakra, Shikamaru was yet another genius, and so was Neji, Hamura was basically a ninjustu catalogue, the twins were kenjustu and taijustu experts, and Hinata had recently awakened her dojustu.

Now Izumi's name was added to the list as a kenjustu user with a special blade and a specialized kind of style, not that she wasn't already leagues ahead of him to begin with. And then there was Anko, who Sasuke didn't really see very often, and who he hadn't seen fight.

It was obvious when she was around she belonged to the group he'd unknowingly become a part of, but there was something about her that separated her from everyone else. Sasuke didn't doubt there was something about her that made her special as well, possibly even more than one thing.

Everyone had something to define them and make them stand out but he had nothing. He was just Itachi's little brother. He was completely unremarkable when compared to the rest of the shinobi hopefuls he spent most of his free time around. He couldn't even beat Hinata in a sparing match while meanwhile Naruto was winning situational spares against both of the Shimura twins.

Mikoto noticed her son's steady decline in mood and she had an idea.

"Do you think I might be able to trouble you with a favor Izumi chan?"

The Uchiha girl nodded her head without hesitation. "Anything for you Mikoto sama."

"Mikoto dear." The matriarch corrected with a warm smile.

"Mi...Mikoto." Izumi said still finding it kind of weird to say it without the honorific.

Mikoto smiled at the girl before turning to Sasuke and pinching his cheek to draw him out of his thoughts.

"Sasuke kun was hoping Itachi would be around to help him with his shurieken practice but he isn't. And I'll be kind of busy with laundry for most of the morning. Do you think you could help him since Itachi isn't here?"

Sasuke opened his mouth to protest but quickly shut it when Mikoto moved her hand from his cheek to pinch his ear letting him know that he really had no choice in the matter and she wouldn't allow him to refuse.

Sasuke just looked down to the side of the table to keep the girl his mother claimed was his brothers best friend from noticing the slight flush to his cheeks. He hated when his mother didn't give him a choice in things, but it was so embrassing when she did it in front of others.

"I'd love to help Sasuke kun with his shurieken practice." Izumi replied causing Mikoto's smile to grow.

"Excellent! I appreciate your help Izumi chan, and even if he doesn't say it I'm sure Sasuke does too."

Sasuke only grumbled in response glad he didn't need much practice. At the most they should be fifteen to thirty minutes, and then he could begin making his way to the compound.

 **Hatake Household-6:24am**

"Your foot work is imppecable Togastu, possibly even better than your brothers...but he definitely has you beaten in blade work." Kakashi informed coming to stand in front of the blade weilding siblings.

The younger Hozuki sibling looked to his older brother and frowned at the shit eating grin he was currently shooting his way. He turned back to Kakashi and wondered if the anbu had recently gone blind or something.

"Suigestu doesn't even have any kind of technique! He can barely weild the blade he uses. He's always swinging it around all sloppy like he can barely even hold onto the thing." He said to Kakashi while frowning at the Hozuki in mention.

"Actually," Amaris cut in from her spot on the porch with Kokiri. "That's how his technique works, although you'd never really know unless you observed closely while he's fighting."

"Suigestu's blade is too heavy for him to use in a practical manner, so he developed a technique of his very own that allows him to use it in the way he does. His blade work may seem sloppy, but that's because he swings the blade and uses his bodies weight as a counter balance."

"He has control over the blade but he tends to let it control itself."

Suigestu shot his brother another look of triumph, and Togastu looked as if he wanted to rip the grin straight from his lips. Had it been anyone else he would have disagreed with the statement that only served to inflate his older brothers ego, but he wouldn't dispute the silver haired Konoha kunochi's observation of his brothers sword play.

While the siblings could respect Kakashi's intelligence as well as his prowess in all aspects of shinobi combat, he was no swordsmen as far as they knew. They gave more weight to the opinions of Amaris when it came to matters of kenjustu.

Then there was the fact that the three of them were slightly hesitatant when it came to speaking out against the woman due to the first impression she'd given that she also happened to ensure would stick with them.

 **FLASHBACK**

The mist siblings were having another one of their daily quarrels while Kakashi was out preforming his anbu duties as usual. Even though the siblings hadn't broken out into an all out brawl with each other yet their quarrels were genuinely destructive in their own right.

They consisted of a slew of insults, thrown object, and threats of real physical violence. Their current debate had already seen a vase, a couple of plates, and a coffee table being thrown and broken as a result. Although the three were already letting insults fly they were only about one or two more insults away from their squabble escalating into an all out brawl between the three.

Just as the Hozuki prepared to launch another volley of insults at each other a kunochi they'd never seen before strolled into the living area as if she owned the place and looked at the three with a look that said she thought as much too.

Amaris took in the messy living room and the broken coffee table with a frown. She hadn't really been to Kakashi's house much considering he was almost always on duty, but the few times she had been here with Kakashi it was plan to see he cherished everything inside the house.

The house and all of it's furnishings had been in his family for five generations. The things that were passed down from generation to generation were the only things Kakashi still had that connected him to his father, and those members of his family he'd never gotten to know.

"You guys break anything else I break you." She stated with a serious edge that only earned her frowns from the three siblings it was now her job to keep in line.

"Who the hell are you?" Suigestu demanded wondering who the hell this chick thought she was to threaten he and his siblings.

"I'll be your new babysitter from now on." She said looking as if she would rather not really have that job at all, or as if she would just rather they not be here.

Suigestu opened his mouth to reply but she silenced him by holding up a hand and looking at him coldly.

"Before any of you start listing off questions or grevances we'll be getting a pecking order established so that I'm sure we all understand each other. Follow me so we can get this done with immediately." She said turning and walking away without bothering to see if they were following or not.

The mist siblings all shared a look before following with predatory grins aimed towards her back. The woman had just waltzed in from out of nowhere and spoken to them as if they were mer children who needed to be taught a lesson, or could be controlled.

It would be fun to teach the arrogant kunochi her place, and if she really thought to establish a pecking order of some kind she'd be surprised when that order was established with her at the very bottom of the food chain.

 **0o0o0o0o0o0o**

The kunochi lead the three to an open area of the forest where the ground was covered in smooth white stones that were easy to walk on and warm to the touch. Where the tree's above parted to reveal the wide open sky and the bare minimum of foliage covered the ground.

The large area that consisted of white pebbles had a large cliff jutting out of a similar kind of smooth rock in the center of the area. A cascade of water running from a large river that was feed by underground springs descended from the edge of the cliff in the form of a waterfall that immediatly drew the eye upon entering the area. The waterfall feed a small river that flowed down stream to a natural sort of geocistern that refeed the same underground spring the lake drew from.

The waterfall fell into a wide bowl that had a slow flowing current, but the lake narrowed out and picked up pace as it went further down stream. The siblings stood on one side of the bowl while Amaris stood on the other, her face the perfect picture of confidence. She projected the air of someone who had something they felt needed to be established.

The siblings were grinning at her ear to ear with their sharpen incisors. All three of them looked as if they couldn't wait to get started.

Amaris didn't look like she was exactly excited about doing this. Her expression was more like the look one gave towards a task they deemed to be a necessary evil. Meanwhile the Hozuki were all looking at the woman hungrily, wondering if she really knew how to use that blade she kept sheathed on her hip.

She pulled the blade from it's sheath and entered a stance none of the three knew or could honestly even say they cared about. They readied their weapons all wondering the same thing at the same time...how much damage they could do to the kunochi without killing her or upsetting Kakashi or whoever it was that assigned her to watch them.

"Ready when you guys are." She called towards them in a tone that was almost mocking.

Suigestu rushed forward with his brother right behind him. Kokiri stood back and began running through hand seals before placing her hands on the surface of the lake they stood on.

As far as they were concerned the woman sealed her fate the moment she decided it'd be best for them to fight in a place with so much water.

Suigestu took a swing with the large broadsword he weilded as soon as he got within range, but to Amaris it was painfully slow. She easily side stepped the attack and backed away avoiding a powerful over handed swing Togastu made to follow up on his brothers attack.

Suigestu stepped forward taking a broad horizontal swing at her mid section and again she just took another step backwards. Togastu followed her movement and attempted to make the same move, only he put much more effort into the attack and Amaris had to flicker to avoid being bisected by the Hozuki's Odachi.

She wasn't any kind of sensory nin but she felt chakra at work in the water beneath her and she backed away as a construct of a shark made entirely of water and chakra leapt out of the water attempting to take her head off. Before the construct could land back inside the lake she stepped forward and tore through the water with her blade, slicing the thing clean in half.

Suigestu flickered behind her and took a vertical swipe at her which she stepped out of the way of. He quickly followed up with another vertical slash which she also dodged, but the Hozuki expected this and brought the blade down into a horizontal slash, swinging the weapon back around in a 360 when she dodged.

Amaris continued moving backwards, easily dodging the swings of Suigestu's blade. She raised her sword over her back stopping what was supposed to be a surprise attack by Togastu.

All three of the Hozuki siblings looked at the kunochi in mild surprise. Suigestu had been herding her towards the attack, and she'd seemed wholly unaware of it till Togastu actually launched it. Besides that thought, the mist siblings didn't even expect her to be strong enough to block that.

She lifted her blade pushing Togastu's away with an ease that caused the Kiri academy graduates eyes to widen. She brought her sword forward towards Suigestu's and he meant her kitana with his broad sword, meeting her in a blade lock. Togastu regained his footing and moved to capitalize on the kunochi's current distraction.

Unbeknownst to him though she wasn't the one struggling in the blade lock. She quickly twisted out of it and the older Hozuki stumbled forward right into his brother who'd lifted his sword just in time to avoid fatally stabbing him.

Amaris moved to capitalize on the two's current defenselessness but Kokiri was in front of her in the next second taking wild undisciplined swings at her with the daggers she was weilding.

Amaris humored her for a moment like she'd done with her brothers, just casually side stepping the attacks instead of using her sword to block or counter. Suigestu and Togastu were back on their feet and already moving to give their sister aid. Amaris flickered after dodging the girls next attack and the siblings heard a pained grunt.

Suigestu and Kokiri both turned towards Togastu and were shocked to see the kunochi standing behind them with her sword sticking out the front of his chest. The younger siblings body melted away from her blade adding to the lake they were currently standing on and rising to reform next to his brother.

"Don't tell me this is all you three have? I expected more when the Hokage assigned me to keep an eye on you three."

The siblings all growled at the woman's taunting statement and Suigestu adopted a different stance with his blade moving it over his shoulder and his brother did the same, holding his odachi out in front of him in what most would see as a defensive stance.

Kokiri moved behind the two and began making more hand signs and two clones of Suigestu rose from the water behind her. Kokiri finished her hand signs and five shark like constructs formed in the water beneath them.

The clones all rushed forward at the same time as the original Suigestu and his younger brother.

Amaris stood where she was and adopted a small smirk as the mist siblings and the clones of the eldest attempted to pressure her. The clones reached her first since they'd been closer and she simply laid her blade against her back and ducked just slightly blocking both their blades without bothering to turn.

She spun on the surface of the water and all the clones saw was a blur before they fell into the lake with the realization she'd taken their legs out from under them in a maneuver that was too quick for them to follow.

She blocked a swing from the real Suigestu's blade as he reached her, and spun to parry another before leaping over the swing of Togastu's odachi and spinning in the air.

Both Hozuki brothers almost hadn't backed away in time, and they each received a cut on their cheeks to ensure they were aware of that. Amaris came out of her spin and landed on the water smiling at the siblings in a way that said she hoped that wasn't all they had either.

Two pairs of hands rose from the lake and latched on to both of her ankles locking her in place. Suigestu and Togastu rushed towards the now trapped kunochi with face splitting grins.

Amaris smirked at the two before she disappered in a flash of light a second later. Togastu and Suigestu both came to a stop as his clones rose from the water looking just as skeptical as him and his brother. Another flash of light and suddenly both of Suigestu's clones were down.

Another grunt of pain was heard and the brothers turned their heads towards their sister who had the blade was protruding from her chest just as it'd had been with Togastu only moments ago. Just as he had her body liquified and fell away from the blade of the katana before starting to reform elsewhere.

The brothers began rushing towards her again and in another flash of light she was gone. The two came to a stop in their charge and both looked behind their backs warily before backing up towards each other so that their backs were pressed together with their swords held in front of them.

Kokiri stood not far away doing the same with the water clone she'd tried to imobilize Amaris with, both of them wary of the surprise attack they knew was coming.

A kunai flew from the top of the water fall stabbing into the former mist kunochi's clone before it erupted with the tell tale explosion of a paper bomb, completely destroying the clone and throwing Kokiri off her feet.

Six more had been thrown in tandem with the first, stabbing into both brothers and causing both of their bodies to liquify in certain areas, but to their relief none of the six had paper bombs attached to them.

It became painfully obvious in that moment that the kunochi was only toying with them. If she had placed paper bombs on the other kunai she'd thrown it would've taken all their chakra to resolidify after being blown apart by three different explosions apiece.

The siblings all looked up and saw her standing on the section of the cliff right beside the waterfall.

She leapt from the cliff and the siblings all wondered what she was planning, besides Kokiri who finally saw her opprotunity. Her sharks all stopped swimming in circles and gathered in one spot awaiting their handlers command.

Sure enough as soon as Amaris halved the distance between the surface of the lake and the top of the cliff all five sharks leapt from the water giving the falling kunochi no avenue of escape. Amaris smirked and shrouded herself in a cloak of wind that surrounded her like a tornado. She picked up speed and speed past the sharks, unsheathing her blade and taking one swing at them as she passed.

The Hozuki didn't see it, but as she'd passed she released one sharp current of wind from her blade and three from her hurricane armor. Upon being cut the sharks all exploded showering the lake and the surrounding battlefield with water as she landed. She still looked as if she was rather bored and the siblings found they actually preferred her cocky grin to her look of boredom.

It was very clear to them now that this woman was far from being a push over. So far she'd only used two ninjustu besides the flicker, and both of them appeared to be advanced beyond what they could readily comprehend. They were only chunin and it looked as if she was definitely a jonin. Her ability to give them a run for their money with nothing but her kenjustu skills and the flicker showed as much.

They all shared a short look before developing their own individual grins of excitement. If they couldn't win against their opponent they'd at least be sure to enjoy themselves.

Suigestu decided he'd rely wholly on his bloodline for this and Togu did the same taking up another stance. One that oddly enough was actually pretty similar to Amaris's primary battle stance. Kokiri came to stand with her brothers, both her daggers in hand and the same excited grin spread across her features.

In a battle of life or death the three would use anything they had to gain the win, but this was really just something like a spare. They knew they would lose, but this was as good an opportunity as any to go all out which they hadn't had a chance to do since coming to Konoha.

They'd never faced a superior opponent in a situation that wasn't life or death before, so they'd use this opportunity to test themselves.

Amaris saw the demeanor the Hozuki siblings had change and she wondered what was going through their minds at the moment. She didn't have very long to contemplate their thoughts as they all rushed her seconds after they'd all come to stand with each other.

Kokiri reached her first and like usual she was making a number of rapid strikes that had no real purpose towards them. Unlike before though she launched an occasional crescent shaped blade of water as she swung, forcing Amaris to put more effort into dodging.

Her eyes widened when she saw Suigestu pulling his sword back from behind Kokiri with a vicious smile on his face. He brung it it forward in a powerful swing cleaving straight through his sister and forcing Amaris backwards.

Togastu rushed forward and took a one handed horizontal swing towards her causing a sharp wave of water to form from the water in the lake and begin chasing Amaris backwards. She took two more leaps backwards and flipped over the sharp wave. Two hands she knew to be Kokiri's rose from the water and caught her ankles as she landed.

Suigestu rose from the water besides her and took a swing but she used the flash teleportation to get away. Togastu waited till she reappeared a half a second later and took another swing at her, sending a wave of water directly from his sword this time.

Amaris lifted her blade slicing clean through the severing crescent. Kokiri rose from the water behind her and hurled a number of kunai towards her back. Hearing the whistle Amaris turned using her sword to knock three of them to the side before side stepping the others even though she really hadn't needed to.

She quickly turned around blocking a heavy swing from Suigestu and half of Togastu's body rose from the water making a horizontal swipe at her legs. She pushed against Suigestu's blade, forcing him away and leaping backwards to avoid having her legs severed at the ankles.

She heard rushing water behind her and she knew Kokiri was rising from the lake and launching a follow up attack to her brothers assaults. She disappered in another flash of light and the sharp wave of water the Kiri kunochi had sent towards her back continued onwards outside the clearing to sever three large tree's unlucky enough to have grown where they did.

The giant oaks came tumbling down but none of the gathered shinobi paid them any mind. The Hozuki siblings all looked around the clearing wondering where she'd gotten off to this time when it struck them all at the same time and they looked up seeing the grinning kunochi perched on the side of the cliff observing them with the expression of someone who was pleased.

"You gonna keep running or you gonna fight us like a real shinobi?!" Suigestu called feeling as if they'd just had the woman on the ropes.

Amaris raised an eyebrow at his comment but continued to grin at the three.

"An intelligent shinobi knows when to hold and when to fold. You don't survive long by making stupid decisions or adopting suicidal tendencies. Plus if I was to fight you three seriously this would be over before it even started."

To her surprise Suigestu didn't frown or glare harder at her statement. Instead he adopted a smile as did his siblings who came to stand on either side of him.

"Why don't you back up that trash talk of yours, because from where we're standing all we see is a coward who has to run when she's about to lose."

Amaris smirked and stood up on the side of the cliff. She'd been planning on drawing the fight out and showing what she was capable of gradually as they did the same but like all children these three seemed impatient.

"You asked for it."

A wind picked up around at the top of the cliff and surrounded the kunochi before her form was shrouded in a bright purplish light that caused the siblings to shield their eyes. The light died a moment later and they all looked back towards her adopting palpable expressions of shock when they saw their opponent wreathed in what appeared to be an actual cloak of storm.

She disappered from sight and the Hozuki siblings swore. It seemed like they couldn't get a break when it came to running into lightning style users.

The lake they stood on rippled and a massive wave spread out in all directions causing the three to scatter least they get forced down stream.

Suigestu heard his sister yell out in pain and he turned and saw her laying unconscious on the rocky bank beside the river. He turned to Togastu just in time to see what he thought looked like a dragon made of lightning slam into his brother and knock him unconscious after a short moment of him howling in pain.

He cursed the Konoha kunochi and desperately scanned the battle field looking for any sign of her till it hit him again and he looked up. Sure enough there she was sitting on the cliff above them, as if she'd never even moved in the first place.

"Careful what you wish for Suigestu." She smirked before three dragons made of lightning broke free of her cloak and speed towards the last remaining Hozuki nin.

Suigestu grounded his teeth and let out a loud cry of battle, waving his sword in front of him and sending a massive wave of water crashing into the dragons. Two of them crashed into the wave and dissipated, electrically charging the water while one managed to still make it past the wall of water, but Sugiestu was gone already, sprinting up the side of the cliff towards the still sitting kunochi who was mildly impressed by his last attack.

He reached the top of the cliff with his sword raised over his shoulder. He brought it forward but before it could contact with the still unmoving Amaris a large gust of wind issued from the kunochi, forcing him backwards and right off the edge of the cliff.

Suigestu swore yet again as he fell, his back hitting the water with a force that would've broken the spin or ruptured organs in most shinobi, but he'd just liquified the moment he made contact.

He rose from the lake and began to reform finding a still smiling Amaris standing across from him on the now calm surface of the lake.

"Damn you..." Suigestu spat wondering where the hell Konoha found this chick.

"You're only a child. You shouldn't be cursing Sugiestu." She said disapprovingly.

Suigestu scoffed at her comment. "What are you my mother?"

Amaris shrugged and readopted the smile she'd worn throughout most of their little one sided spare.

"I'm you and your siblings babysitter from now on. You guys live with my boyfriend so I guess you could call me that...just don't actually call me that."

Suigestu looked like he was disgusted with the suggestion.

"Like I'd ever call you that anyway!" He shouted rushing in for another attack.

Amaris raised her hand and caught his blade in a manner similar to what Kakashi had done back in Kiri, only this time no lightning ran through the blade. He attempted to pull it free of her grip but he was surprised to find he couldn't.

"Lightning style," Amaris started with a grin causing Suigestu's eyes to widen as he saw the lightning around her cloak begin pulling away. "Zap dragon." She finished as the lightning took shape and rushed forward.

Time slowed down for Sugiestu. There was no way he could dodge the justu at near point blank range but if he hurried and liquified it'd fly right over his head as he fell into the lake. However to do so would separate him from his sword and he wasn't the type of swordsmen who would willing let go of his respect.

The kunochi was testing him to see what he'd do since he was the obvious swordsmen out of his siblings and he could only smirk as the dragon slammed into him, filling him body with pain and sending his world into darkness.

 **PRESENT**

Regardless of the time that had passed since then the three were still fully aware of the fact that once she started playing seriously she'd ended the fight in seconds.

She wasn't even fully serious and she'd taken them out before they'd even really been able to register what happened. What scared them about her was that they hadn't been able to touch her, even in the beginning when she'd barely even been trying. She hadn't even shown them half of what she was capable of yet she defeated them without even coming close to breaking a sweat.

They found her claim that Kakashi was stronger than her to be a hard pill to swallow, but at the same time they didn't really think she was lying. Something about the copy nin besides his position as anbu captain just screamed of skill and experience one wouldn't really expect from a shinobi so young, even if he was older than them.

Kakashi didn't scare them because he'd brung them here, and he'd obviously fought them with no intention to kill back in Kiri. Amaris however was tasked with watching them so they didn't doubt that she'd get rid of them if she or the villages higher ups deamed them a threat.

Plus unlike Kakashi the jonin wasn't one to hold in any anger when it rose. She'd let you know exactly how she was feeling at any given moment about anything she felt. Kakashi was calm, analytical, prone to habit, and forgiving. Amaris was easily excitable, assertive, unpredictable, and could be harsh when dealing out punishment.

Kakashi could be intimidating when he wanted but Amaris could be down right scary. They'd been defeated within seconds by the copy nin but Amaris took her time defeating them just so that she could erase any doubts they had about her superiority. When they spared with Kakashi he took the time to draw out and help them improve their skills. Sparing against Amaris was more like a game of survival than anything, and usually it always resulted in a heavy soreness, or exhaustion, sometimes both.

While they respected Kakashi just as much as they did Amaris they didn't know him to be a swordsman so when it came to matters of kenjustu they deffered to the kunochi.

"Big deal, so the guy can swing a sword. I'll still kick his ass in a one on one without having to use any weapon." Togastu said looking to Kakashi and Amaris.

"Big talk from a little fish. You must not remember the last time you tried that." Suigestu mocked pulling his water holder from his hip and taking a drink.

"Wanna bet it'll turn out differently this time?" Togastu said sticking his sword in the dirt and cracking his knuckles.

"I bet within the first five minutes I'll kick your ass." Suigestu grinned putting his water holder back into place and mimicking his brothers actions.

Kokiri scoffed and rolled her eyes on the sideline. Togastu knew he wasn't stronger than Suigestu yet he always challenged him anyway, and Suigestu always let his younger brother goad him into a fight even when the outcome was obvious.

Kakashi sighed thinking something along the same lines as the former Kiri kunochi. He'd been hoping to help the two improve their blade work but both of them proved so easily distractible.

Just as the two moved to rush each other an anbu landed in the clearing drawing all attention and causing the two to pause as the masked shinobi's appearance brought rise to curiousity.

Kakashi and Amaris both adopted frowns for different reasons. Kakashi because it was his day off, so for someone to bother him something important must have just come up that really needed his attention. Amaris because she was hoping to drag Kakashi somewhere on a date after they trained the Hozuki siblings to the point of exhaustion.

"Sorry to disturb you on your rest day captain but the Hokage request your presence immediately. He says it is a matter of the utmost importance."

Kakashi nodded to the anbu who flickered away after delivering his message. Kakashi turned to Amaris who only gave a reluctant smile and stood up to approach and and give him a parting kiss in case she wouldn't be seeing him for the rest of the day.

Kakashi returned the woman's affection before flickering away after the anbu, not even bothering to go inside and change into his anbu uniform.

The Hozuki siblings knew what was coming next. Amaris seemed almost seraphic when Kakashi was around, but when he wasn't she grew restless to an extent. She stood and walked towards the Hozuki brothers, unsheathed her blade and began twirling it in her hand.

"Okay boys...time for the real training to begin." She said before beckoning Kokiri forward with her hand.

The youngest sibling sighed hoping to kunochi wasn't in a stabbing mood today. Suigestu and Togastu grinned wondering if today would finally be the day they landed a hit on the woman.

 **Land of rice patties-6:28am**

Anyone who knew Orochimaru knew the man had something of a task oriented mind. The snake was always working on something, that or cooking up a plan or a scheme of some kind.

His latest plan involved the hidden villages somewhat as everything in the elemental nation's concerned them in some way.

Konohagakure, the village hidden in the leaves. Practically everyone knew of it's location..but if Konoha were to destroy all the main roads leading to the village even most residents of the land of fire, and Konoha itself would have a hard time finding the village inside the ocean of trees.

Kumogakure, or the hidden cloud village. So high up on the mountains that to get to the village you would have to literally ascend pass the cloud line on your journey. If Kumo were to destroy the mountain paths leading to the village it likewise would be practically impossible to find.

Sunagakure, the village hidden in the sand had no visible paths laid out in the desert sands and it was literally hidden inside of the desert. Ever difficult, and practically impossible to find for anyone besides the desert dwellers who'd been taught to find their way around the land of wind using methods known only to them.

Kirigakure, the village hidden in the mist. The island where the village was located was constantly shrouded under such a thick layer of mist finding it was pretty much impossible for foreigners.

Iwagakure, the village hidden in the earth. Located deep inside a canyon with a location that was pretty common knowledge. The village proved hard to get to without the use of earth style justu due to the mountains that lined the border of earth country, as well as the rocky landscape.

Amegakure, the hidden in the rain village. Literally hidden by a constant shroud of rain. One could get to the hidden rain village if they were willing to look hard enough and didn't mind lots and lots of water.

Takigakure, the hidden waterfall village was assumed to be hidden behind a waterfall of some kind. Outside of residing somewhere in a nameless country most reffered to as waterfall, no one knew where it was hidden.

Kusagakure or the village hidden in the grass was similar to Konoha in the way of surrounding scenery. Like waterfall the country Kusa inherited had no name but Orochimaru and some others reffered to it as grass country simply because it was appropriate.

Really there were too many minor villages to list them all, what made them unique, and kept them 'hidden'.

Getsugakure, hidden village of the land of moon. The Island the village was located on resided inside the Aisu, or rock bay, Northeast of Earth countries northern coast. North of Waterfall countries northern coast. Northwest of the land of Irons Northern coast. And south of the group of islands that made up the land of snow.

Hoshigakure, or the village hidden among the stars, resided in the land of bears, a small country located between the lands of Earth and Wind.

Ishigakure, which resides in stone country, another small country located in between the land of Earth and the land of wind.

Jōmae Village, located within the land of keys. The third country residing between Earth and wind country.

Shimogakure, hidden village of the land of frost, which resides in between the land of lightning and the land of hot springs.

Tanigakure, the hidden valley village, and hidden village of the land of rivers, which resides in between the land of fire and the land of wind, and touched upon the land of rains southern border, while touching Hanguri gulf at the south.

Then of course you once had the now destroyed Uzushiogakure, hidden village of the land of whirlpool which was now without any kind of real protection.

Yugakure had once been the hidden village of the land of hot springs till they decided to go the peaceful route and were slaughtered by one of their own ninja. The land of hot springs bordered the land of lightning to the east, the land of fire to the south west, and the land of rice patties to the northwest.

There were a number of other villages, towns, cities, and even private compounds spread throughout the elemental nation's but they were hardly important, or at least to Orochimaru they weren't really important.

The Sannin had just finalized his agreement with the Daimyo. The land of rice patties would now be officially rechristened into the land of sound, and the hidden sound village, or Otogakure would be established as the lands hidden village.

The land of sound bordered the land of iron to the west, the land of hot springs to the east, and the land of fire to the south. It's northern coast touched upon the Gaikostu bay which like the Aisu bay let out into the gold sea

Really the Daimyo had been a bit reluctant to agree to Orochimaru's terms so he just killed the man and had him replaced with an underling.

He currently stood inside of his newly constructed lab in front of a cloning tank where a perfect copy of himself constructed almost entirely from cloned Hashirama cells was undergoing development. He'd been attempting this for years but he could only clone the cells and graft them onto bodies, not construct a full body from them. Now though thanks to Danzo he'd finally done it.

In his research of Monogahi genetics he'd discovered they weren't quite as pure as they thought. The Monogahi were under the impression they assimilated the traits of any bloodline they came in contact with but that simply wasn't true. Their blood only memorized, or copied most bloodlines. They only actually assimilated a few.

Danzo had given Anko a very risky and very specific mission once. A mission he co-signed on to stress the importance of, and she'd preformed admirably.

He and Danzo had tasked the girl with retrieving a blood sample from the Monogahi boy who'd saved her from Jugo's men two years ago. They had no idea how she'd gotten it without raising the slightest bit of suspicion but somehow she'd done it and Orochimaru hadn't been too shocked to find something about his genetic structure was entirely different from that of his cousins, as he'd expected as much.

He hadn't known what it was at the time but he figured it had to have something to do with the colorful flecks in the eyes of the Monogahi that varied in color from different groups of immediate family. There was yellow, purple, orange, blue, and white.

After some research he'd discovered that the eye color actually symbolized what genetics had been assimilated with theirs. There was likely once a time when the Monogahi didn't possess those colorful flecks in their eyes, and at such a time the clan were likely pure Monogahi, but that time was likely long pass seeing how friendly they were with others.

Yellow flecks in the eyes meant these Monogahi were of close genetic structure to the Uzumaki. They tended to have greater chakra reserves than the rest of their brethren, as well as average shinobi. These breed of Monogahi seemed the most common and he attributed that to the clans close relationship to the Uzumaki.

Orange flecks meant relation to whatever clan it was Jugo hailed from and Orochimaru found himself wholly interested in those in possession of these genetics. He'd put his curse mark research on hold in favor of his new projects, but it was coming along rather smoothly regardless of the delay. Those of Jugo's clan had the ability to naturally draw in nature style chakra and use it in a myriad of ways, and he developed his curse mark to do the same although the curse mark corrupted the chakra and mixed it with the branded individuals, by design of course.

He'd had Kabuto and a group of his best shinobi ambuse a Monogahi with orange flecks in his eyes outside of Konoha to retrieve a blood sample and he'd been shocked to find Jugo apparently wasn't the only person still living with such a kekkei genki.

Purple flecks meant intermingled Senju genetics which really meant a lot of things. The Senju were known as the clan of 1000 techniques. Essentially the Senju were very adept at learning and developing new techniques, but Orochimaru found this almost too perfect. Imari and Inoha just so happened to be in possession of purple flecks which meant their genetics while still Monogahi in structure we're also of the Senju variety.

Splicing their genetics with his Orochimaru was finally able to fully construct a clone entirely of Hashirama cells.

His mouth watered at the thought of all that he'd be capable of once he was able to replace his current body with the one in development in front of him. The life force and chakra of the first Hokage, coupled with every bloodline the twins had copied into their genetics.

That already added Yin and Yang release as well as Crystal style and the Kaguya style bone release kekkei genki to his list, and those were only the tip of the iceberg.

Danzo truly had no idea what he'd given him when he agreed to let him draw spinal fluid from the twins. Having a Senju body with Monogahi genetics would basically make him capable of anything. The world was at his finger tips. He just needed to be patient enough to wait for the body to finish it's development.

He wondered if there were more Monogahi with mutated genetics he didn't know about, but he wouldn't bother himself with that right now while he still had work to be seen to.

He still owed Danzo a new body for his services.

 **Uchiha compound-6:37am**

Izumi had watched Sasuke throw a couple of shurieken before noticing his release was a bit off and correcting him on it. After that his throws were practically perfect. He'd just need more practice to improve his accuracy same as anyone just learning how to throw shurieken or kunai.

She watched him throw shurieken at the target for the next ten minutes and noticed he seemed to be putting more force into his throws than was necessary.

It didn't really take a sharingan to see he was upset about something and Izumi couldn't help but compare him to his older brother in that moment. She didn't think she'd ever seen Itachi upset and if she had she probably hadn't even known he was.

Itachi was always so stotic it was practically impossible to tell what he was feeling at any given moment and even harder to see it, but Sasuke was the exact opposite. You could always tell what kind of mood the younger brother was in from the expression he wore.

Itachi was always so calm and collected hardly anything was able to garner an emotional response from him, but Sasuke was always so reactivate that practically everything got some sort of response. He rarely ever seemed devoid of emotion unlike Itachi and Fugaku who hardly ever displayed any at all.

It was likely because he took after Mikoto more than his father, which was another thing that separated him from Itachi who she thought definitely took after his father before his mother. Sasuke even more strongly resembled Mikoto than Itachi, who did resemble Mikoto but leaned a bit further towards Fugaku in appearance.

She wondered what the two would be like if the roles were reversed and Itachi took more after Mikoto and Sasuke took more after Fugaku.

She abandoned the thought after a moment deciding she liked Itachi exactly as he was and she didn't want to imagine him any different, nor could she hope for any better.

She turned her attention back towards Sasuke and stood to walk over and stand a short distance behind the boy as he threw shurieken at the target and always came up short of the bullseye.

"Ryo for your thoughts?" She offered knowing he wouldn't feel any better of he didn't talk about it. It was unhealthy to keep things bottled up, especially when they genuinely bothered you.

Sasuke completely missed his next throw as her voice distracted him and caused his hand to go off target. He turned around and fixed her with a frown but Izumi merly smiled at him in her usually kind manner with her hands behind her back and a patient look on her face.

His frown only grew as he began to wonder why this girl seemed so patient with him. He'd already made it perfectly clear everytime she made an attempt to speak to him that he didn't like her, yet she still would always persist as if she was completely unbothered, or as if she still somehow thought they could be friends.

He 'tched' and turned around going back to throwing his shurieken but he could still feel her gaze on his back. When he ran out of shurieken a minute later he turned around and saw her still standing there with her hands behind her back and the same patient look on her face she'd had when he turned around.

For some reason she reminded him of his brother in that moment. When things bothered him his father generally acted like his concerns weren't important, his mother would force him to speak his mind but Itachi would just wait till he was ready to speak. His brother would give him a look that was very similar to the look of patience worn by the girl who had yet to move, or give up on him it seemed.

Sasuke made another 'tch' noise but didn't turn away this time. Izumi smiled warmly at him at he blushed a little not hating her or wondering why she was Itachi's best friend for the first time ever. He'd never spent much time around the girl as he didn't like her at all, but he could see a bit of similarities between her and his brother now.

She was reacting to his mood in the same exact way that Itachi would, and he momentarily wondered if she had siblings all of her own.

He turned around fully and held his hand out and Izumi looked at him a bit puzzled for a moment till her eyes lit up and she readopted her smile and went into one of her shinobi pouches, pulling out a wallet and placing a single Ryo she took from inside into his palm.

Both of them knew that it was just an expression to give someone an option to get things off of their chest, but they both also knew that Sasuke was way too prideful to speak on something that was bothering him to anyone but Itachi without an excuse.

He pocketed the Ryo and gazed at the ground knowing since he'd accepted it there was no turning back now. Honestly he'd wanted someone to vent what he was feeling to, but he barely knew this girl and he thought it was kind of embarrassing.

"Well...I guess it's just been I'm not feeling good enough to live up to expectations. Everyone from our training group is some amazingly talented shinobi prospect and I'm just me. There isn't anything special about me. I'm the weakest of our group by far, and I can't even get my father to notice me behind Itachi."

"What's worse is, it seems like I've been getting to spend less and less time with my brother lately. I know he's just been busy with being a shinobi and all, but sometimes it feels like he's dissapointed in me too. Everyone in the clan besides my mother expects me to be the next Itachi but I'm nowhere near being that. I can't even compete with some shy Hyuga girl who couldn't say a single sentence without a horrible stutter a few months ago."

"I feel like I'm chasing after a goal I'll never reach. Like I'm trying to grow into shoes I was never meant for, like all of my training is for nothing because no matter what I can't even catch up to the best out of my age group. There's no way I'll ever catch up to Itachi." Sasuke finished noting it felt good to vent, but it didn't actually make him feel any better.

"I understand where you're coming from." Izumi said actually feeling close to Sasuke for once. "I was just like you a few months ago."

"Neji is better than me in kenjustu and Imari and Shisui are in a league niether of us can comprehend. My genjustu can't even hold a candle to Itachi and Shisui's. Shikamaru Neji and Itachi are all smarter than me. Inoha and Neji would both absolutely destroy me in a taijustu battle. I think Naruto knows more justu than I do now and I know Hamura does."

"My biggest fear used to be I was trailing too far behind Itachi. That he'd wake up one day and realize I was weak and there was nothing he could gain by being my friend. I wanted to be stronger so I didn't lose him, instead of being strong for my own sake."

"When you stop worrying about what separates you from everyone else and start focusing all your attention on just being as strong as you can be you'll find what makes you special. Before I had Iilha I had nothing, but that's okay. We aren't defined by what separates us from others. Our character and our strength of will is what defines us."

Sasuke scoffed at Izumi and turned away. "It's easy for you to say that considering no one expects anything from you."

Izumi began chuckling at that and Sasuke looked at her in annoyance wondering what she found funny about that statement.

"No one does expect anything from me, but that's only because everyone who should gave up on me the moment I was born. No one expects anything from me but I still have to work just as hard as everyone else."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow not understanding why she had to work for anything if no one expected anything from her.

"You didn't know that I was a half breed did you?"

Sasuke's eyes widened and he shook his head no seeing Izumu a bit differently than he had before. Her eyes wandered towards the clouds and her expression grew a bit sad before she continued.

"No one expects anything from me because no one really cares what I accomplish. For the longest time I just wanted someone, anyone to hold some kind of expectation of me."

"It'd surprise you to know just how many people look at me with disgust when I walk around the compound just because I was born only half Uchiha. When I'm with Itachi those looks of disgust become something close to looks of hatred..like my impurity will somehow corrupt Itachi just by me being close to him."

She looked thoughtful for a moment before she continued.

"I have to work extra hard to make sure I'm not just seen as some weakling hanging onto the next heir to the clans coat tails. I've got to be strong just to prove myself worthy to actually walk beside my best friend but that doesn't define me. When I stopped focusing so greatly on the differences between me and Itachi I began to truly find my own strength."

"Because of who you are people will have expectations of you, but you don't have to meet them. You're your own person. Your life is your own, not the life people outlined for you before you were born. If I lived up to the expectations people had of me I'd be nothing right now, but instead I I'm all that I am. Define your own existence Sasuke, don't let anyone define it for you."

Sasuke was stunned at the girls words and after all that she said he couldn't help but view her in a new light. Who would have known at first glance that she went through so much just to stand next to his brother or define her own existence.

Who would have known that she'd actually learned so much from her experience that it made her capable of relating to someone in entirely different shoes from her own that were somewhat similar.

Who would have known that her words would actually make him feel better? Sasuke didn't know if it was, but he couldn't help but feel like she'd just given him some of the best advice he might ever hear. He didn't think even Itachi could've given him better advice pertaining to the situation.

For the first time ever he graced the girl with a smile, deciding that he would stop focusing on what separated him from the others, and just focus on improving himself instead.

"Thank you...Izumi chan. Don't think this means I actually like you now, but I'm glad you're my brothers best friend."

Izumi beamed at the younger Uchiha's words and ruffled his hair playfully. "Don't mention it Sasuke kun! I'm really glad I could help you and if you ever need anyone to talk to I wouldn't mind doing it again.'

Sasuke nodded his head blushing lightly and moving towards the bullseye at the end of his family's backyard to retrieve his shurieken.

Mikoto discreetly moved away from the doorway she'd been listening to them from and tried to contain the joy she felt seeing that this one girl was able to not only understand both her generally unapproachable sons, but she was also good for them. She found herself hoping that regardless of how the majority of the clan might feel about it that Uchiha girl in her backyard would one day become her daughter in law.

She honestly didn't see Itachi finding a woman who truly suited or understood him otherwise, and for the most part Sasuke disliked everyone. She'd never seen her youngest son warm up to anyone before, and Izumi had made it happen within span of one short conversation.

If Itachi one day married Izumi then there was definitely hope for Sasuke getting married in the future...or at least she hoped.

 **Monogahi compound-6:47am**

Neji was a bit surprised to find that Nubutaka wasn't at the compound at the moment, and he wondered where his sensei could have gotten off to so early.

Izumi wasn't there either so he had no one to practice his kenjustu against. He thanked the servant who informed him Nubutaka had left a while ago and walked outside towards the training field intending to go through his kata before heading towards the Monogahi library. He knew Sayako likely wasn't up yet, but Hashio was always an early riser.

In his time spent in the clans library he'd come to develop a familiarity with both it's librarians. Hashio was always insisting he study fuinjustu during his free time as it was something of a dying art, but Neji always insisted that between his regular ninjustu taijustu and kenjustu training he wouldn't have enough time to study something as complex as fuinjustu.

Somehow though the man had still convinced him to take up study during his free time. Neji was still only a novice though, just barely really having any understanding of stage one. Fuinjustu took years and years of practice for anyone who wasn't an Uzumaki to actually come to develop any real skill with, which was the primary reason it remained a dying art. Ten levels of mastery and only a few people to have lived ever reached ten.

Since the fall of Uzushio sealing scrolls, and even minor shinobi tools that required seals such as paper bombs had went up in price. Uzushio produced more than 40 percent of the world's seals and distributed them to the merchants of Whirlpool who'd sold them to the various lands across the continent and brought their profits back to the village to purchase more seals.

The world was now going through something of a shortage of seals, but Konoha actually had more access to merchants that sold them than most countries. That was one of the reasons Iwa saw fit to start another war with the village only a few years after the third great ninja war. They didn't appreciate how Konoha practically had the market cornered when it came to seals and those who sold them.

Shinobi of Konohagakure used seals more freely than the shinobi of any other nation for good reason. Something as simple as a paper bomb would be more than twice as expensive in Iwa or Kumo than it was in Konoha. Shinobi of other nations used such things sparingly while Konoha shinobi would use them freely if they had them.

Neji was now in the beginning of learning how to create his own paper bombs. He didn't have any plans of becoming a seal master, or even a seal merchant. Fuinjustu took perfect calligraphy and it also took decent chakra control because if you placed too much or too little chakra into one seal you'd ruin it.

The calligraphy practice helped him hone his concentration as well as improved his skill with his hands. Creating the seals themselves was great for honing his chakra control and depending on how many attempts he'd make to create a seal in one day it was even good for helping him to increase his chakra reserves.

He saw this more as a different kind of training, rather than the act of actually learning something completely new. Nubutaka approved of course telling Neji it would just be overkill if the Hyuga's first kenjustu master also happened to be it's first fuinjustu master.

Neji didn't hold such hopes for his fuinjustu prowess in the future. At the most he hoped to one day be able to create his own storage scrolls and paper bombs so he wouldn't need to buy them. Fuinjustu took far too long to master and he already had other things to focus on that occupied the majority of his free time.

Just as he shifted into his beginning stance he heard footsteps and turned to see four familiar figures stepping into the clearing from the tree line belonging to the forest to the east of the compound.

"Yo!" One of them called earning himself a polite node from the Hyuga who waited patiently for the group to close the distance between them.

About a few seconds later they all came to a stop a few feet in front of him. Shisui and Hamura already saying their greetings and Itachi and Shikamaru just nodding theirs as was usual.

"So my brother isn't here?" Hamura said noticing the training ground was empty.

Neji nodded his head and remarked that this was an unusual occurrence to which the group all nodded in agreement. Usually Nubutaka was always here in the mornings just waiting for someone to come by for a spare or training of some kind. As far as they knew it was the highlight of his day.

His absence could only mean something important had come up that required his attention elsewhere, but the genin shrugged it off figuring it was nothing that involved them so they shouldn't really be concerned.

Itachi took the opportunity to request a rematch considering they'd never had the opportunity to repeat their battle, and he was curious to see if Neji would be able to handle his new genjustu as easily as he'd handled the simpler one's.

Neji developed a grin and remarked that he'd be glad to fulfill his request for a rematch. He knew Itachi had improved his genjustu greatly over the short amount of time that'd passed since their last spare and he was curious to see just how much he'd done so and what kind of a difference it might make.

Shikamaru looked a bit surprised but thanked whoever was listening that they hadn't decided to pit him up against the Hyuga. Neji wasn't as smart as him but a genius was still a genius at the end of the day. Shikamaru's taijustu skills were just above that of an average genin's, but Neji's taijustu skills were already at the level of a chunins.

He only lasted against team twelve in spares because they held back on him, and because he thought fast enough to ensure he had a way of reacting to almost anything, but Neji would show him no such mercy. While it might serve as a good test of his skill he already knew exactly where he stood in comparison to everyone else, so a spare against the Hyuga would be bothersome at best.

Shisui groaned wishing he'd have gotten the chance to challenge Neji to a kenjustu battle first. Hamura just grinned in Neji's direction wondering if he actually had any idea what he was getting himself into. Itachi's genjustu were far above the level of where they'd been a year and a half ago.

Neji and Itachi both made their way towards other ends of the training field so they could get their spare underway, while Hamura and Shikamaru began walking towards the area of the field where spectators usually stood.

Shisui stayed where he was and waited for the two to stop, pulling out a kunai when he saw they both were ready.

"Okay fellas, the rules are simple. I don't wanna see any ninjustu besides the flicker, the shadow clone, and the regular clone justu. Kenjustu and taijustu are encouraged as well as any use of ninja tools either of you see fit to use. Let's have a good and entertaining battle!" Shisui finished hurling the kunai into the air and flickering away.

The kunai detonated and Neji wordlessly activated his Byakugan and rushed Itachi knowing the Uchiha was more of a mid ranged fighter. The last time these two spared Nubutaka pressed that he wasn't allowed to use any taijustu, only ninjustu and kenjustu skills with a kunai.

He couldn't help but grin feeling as if the moment he got within Itachi's personal place the battle would be his.

Itachi squared his feet and calmly waited for his opponent to close the last of the distance between them. He was actually glad this wasn't a complete redo of their previous battle. He'd been working on his technique with the destroyer fist and Neji was likely the best opponent to test himself on.

Neji got within striking distance of Itachi and was a bit surprised to see he hadn't backed away. He thrust his arm forward throwing a palm jab towards his shoulder to test the waters. Itachi knocked his hand to the side and threw a strong right hook which surprised Neji when it crashed against the guard he raised with a strength he hadn't expected from Itachi.

Itachi broke away from the Hyuga's guard and raised his right leg aiming a kick at his face which he quickly backed away from before moving forward again to launch another palm strike at the Uchiha, missing the way his eyes quickly bleed red.

Suddenly Neji's entire world changed, and it was as if some sort of film cover had been placed over it. The illusion was definitely a powerful one, one that seemed strong enough to even physically affect his body. He was surrounded by an ocean of darkness that pressed down on him all at once.

He couldn't move, he felt like he couldn't breathe. He could see through the genjustu as if it was a transparent film someone place over his eyes, but the affect it still had on him was heavy. He felt like any action he took might just result in the darkness crushing the air out of his lungs, or ripping him apart and devouring what remained of his soul.

He could see Itachi calmly observing him through the thin film that was the genjustu. He pulsed his chakra and the film was instantly gone as if it'd never even been there.

He inhaled deeply and looked at Itachi warily, slightly unnerved by the raw feeling of terror and despair he'd gotten while under the genjustu.

He saw through the genjustu the very moment it'd been caste yet it was still powerful enough to paralyze him for a moment.

Itachi looked at him with an pleased expression bordering on curiousity. Neji obviously saw through his genjustu, otherwise he doubted he'd have had the presence of mind to break that one. He was pleased that the Hyuga still seemed to have been affected by it though. He'd have to try a few more before their sparing session was over.

Neji watched as the Uchiha's lips curled upward into a rare smile. He was about to raise an eyebrow but before he had the chance Itachi spun on his left foot and sent a speedy kick towards his temple.

Neji raised a guard barely managing to block the attack in time and Itachi brung his foot back down and threw a straight palm strike which Neji stepped out of the way of. Itachi threw another punch Neji weaved before thrusting a palm jab towards Itachi in retaliation. Itachi raised his arm and batted it to the side before quickly making a sweep at Neji's legs.

Neji jumped backwards and Itachi moved towards him and began throwing a series of jabs when he got within striking distance. Neji side stepped Itachi's punches with virtual ease but he had a hard time landing a hit on Itachi as he was fast enough to block and then counter most of his retaliatory blows.

His sharingan enabled him to swat his arms aside in a way that didn't result in him shutting down any of his chakra points

Itachi threw a right hook Neji blocked and Itachi threw two more punches he tried to dodge but couldn't. He ended up having to block those two and Itachi threw another punch at his midsection which he sloppily parried since his hands took more time to recover from blocking attacks than Itachi's did from throwing them.

Itachi made a sweep at Neji's leg which the Hyuga backed out of the way of. Itachi stepped forward and used the momentum to launched an overhead chop towards Neji which he brought up his left arm to block. Itachi spun only a second after he blocked and Neji barely had time to raise his right arm in time to block a kick that'd been aimed at his stomach.

Itachi made another sweep at his legs and Neji backed up once again seeing a pattern. Itachi closed the distance again launching another high blow at his head in a vertical swipe. Neji side stepped the attack and launched two palm jabs Itachi swatted to the side and launched his own counters to.

Neji easily parried the Uchiha's counters but Itachi didn't let up. He launched two more punches, twisting into a round house Neji ducked under. He spun into a sweep and Neji leapt over it launching three fast palm jabs Itachi was able to side step.

Itachi parried another palm jab and countered with a quick jab that was just meant to throw the Hyuga off. Sure enough when Neji stepped out of the way of the attack Itachi's Sharingan quickly zero'd in on the first opening in the Hyuga's guard since the battle began.

He made a quick fient with his right arm but quickly brought his left leg up delivering a hard kick to Neji's side and forcing him to stumble a bit while from the force of the blow.

The Hyuga gripped his side and frowned at himself for not seeing it sooner. Itachi had obviously improved in his use of the Uchiha's destroyer fist and was obviously attempting to test himself against him. He had been working against himself throughout the majority of that exchange considering that was what the destroyer fist did, it forced it's enemies to provide an opening without the user seeking for one.

The gentle fist was similar to the style in it being an offensive style but Neji had to find openings and strike at them, and if there weren't any he had to create them. Itachi only had to keep on the attack till one inevitably presented itself. He could see why the Sharingan and the Byakugan were comparable on many levels.

This was supposed to be a battle of the eyes and it still was since the destroyer fist relied on the Sharingan just as much as the gentle fist relied on the Byakugan.

Itachi was waiting patiently for him to catch his breath but Neji didn't need long. He rushed Itachi uncaring about the dull ache in his side that accompanied the Uchiha's kick knowing it'd go away eventually.

He began throwing a rapid barrage of palm jabs as soon as he got with melee range and Itachi automatically noticed the difference. While he was fast enough to keep up with the Hyuga he wasn't fast enough to counter while Neji was attacking at this speed, and he was forced to leap away before Neji somehow managed to force an opening.

He expected the Hyuga to follow but Neji thrust his arms forward calling out the name of his attack as two waves of pressurized chakra flew from his palms. Itachi flickered out of the way of the attack and Neji hurled a kunai towards him when he reappeared.

Itachi knocked the kunai to the ground and flickered away expecting Neji to switch places with it. Neji drew two more kunai and threw them towards the Uchiha, Itachi knocked each of them down and allowed Neji to close the distance again.

He knew that he wasn't up to the task of beating Neji with taijustu alone so he reverted back to his original plan of testing out his genjustu.

 **0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Once she was sure he knew how to properly throw shurieken and kunai, Izumi suggested she and Sasuke head over to the Monogahi compound together since they were both headed there anyway.

Sasuke readopted his usual demeanor and remarked that he'd rather not go anywhere with her to which she only sighed in dissapointment till she saw his eyes widened and his expression change.

She wondered why he looked regretful all of a sudden and when he apologized she was stunned speechless. Sasuke said rude things to her all the time when no one was around, but he'd never before apologized. Before she could reply he remarked that he actually wouldn't mind although he sounded reluctant to say as much.

Izumi just nodded her head and they proceeded to make their way to the compound a short distance away from there's in silence.

Sasuke wondered if he'd offended her at all and hoped not. He felt some kind of kinship with the half blooded Uchiha girl after today. She reminded him a bit of Itachi in the way she helped him deal with his feelings, and even a bit of himself in the way that she'd felt inadequate compared to those around her not too long ago.

She was an outcast because of reasons beyond her control but she didn't let her circumstances define her fate or hold her back.

Izumi wondered why Sasuke's demeanor had changed all of a sudden but then she realized what she said and stopped walking, causing him to stop and look back at her curiously before his expression grew annoyed when she continued to stand there and look at him.

Just as he'd been about to open his mouth she smiled and told him thank you before she began to walk ahead leaving him at a lost for words. He shook himself from his stupor and began walking with her again. He didn't know why she'd said thank you but after a moment he reasoned that she understood he hadn't meant that comment and he'd agreed to walk with her as a short of unspoken apology.

He was glad she could be so perceptive but at the same time he found it annoying she could read him in the same way that only Itachi and his mother could. Either way he wasn't going to let her know he was grateful or anything.

Izumi could only smile as she felt she was making progress with Sasuke. If only Itachi was so easy to read, but then again she thought understanding him was enough. She didn't need to know what he was thinking every moment. She could just pester him when she wanted to know. He might put up a good front sometimes but Izumi knew Itachi was starting to like it when she bothered him.

 **0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Shikamaru temporarily averted his gaze from the battle taking place in front of him and saw Izumi and Sasuke approaching them. He'd meant Izumi a few times but besides the fact that she was an Uchiha and her and Itachi seemed close he didn't know anything about her.

He'd only actually meant Sasuke just yesterday. He'd been to the Monogahi compound when Shisui or Hamura dragged him here, but he never actually spoke to anyone besides Naruto and two girls with white hair who acted like they were Naruto's sisters.

He never participated in any of the spares that took place because team twelve usually always beat the crap out of him before they took happened. So he usually just attended as a spectator, and on days when his jailer's were out on mission he got to enjoy the blissful experience of sleeping in late, although his father would wake him up early sometimes just to challenge him to a game of shogi before he went to work.

 _"What an ass."_ Shikamaru internally groaned thinking about his father.

He knew Shikaku just saw a lot of potential in him and wanted to make sure it didn't go to waste, but that didn't change the fact that having to wake up early everyday was a fate he wouldn't wish on his worst enemies.

Sasuke and Izumi came to stand next to him Hamura and Shisui. Izumi politely greeted the three of them while Sasuke nodded to Shikamaru who returned the greeting. Shisui moved up from behind the young Uchiha and playfully ruffled his hair earning a frown for his troubles before he turned to observe Itachi and Neji's spare like he'd been doing before their arrival.

Neji was blizting Itachi will palm strikes so fast his fist blurred and Itachi's eyes were darting back and forth as he weaved and blocked blow after blow to avoid taking any damage. Neji froze mid strike and Itachi swept his legs out from underneath his feet. Neji pulled a kunai from his pouch and threw it at the Uchiha the moment his back touched the ground, forcing Itachi to dodge rather than capitalize as he was intending.

Neji quickly rolled to his feet and the two re-engaged in their battle causing Izumi to raise an eyebrow.

"Are they only using taijustu and genjustu?"

"Yup." Shisui answered not taking his eyes off the two. "Itachi's been working on his taijustu lately because he doesn't want it falling behind compared to his other skills."

"Yeah." Hamura added. "Itachi's trying not to really rely on his genjustu heavily. He only really uses it when Neji gets too close to landing a hit."

"No way!" Sasuke interjected looking upset about something. "There's no way that Hyuga is on the same level as my onii chan."

"Itachi would make short work of him in a real battle, but Neji definitely isn't a push over. They say he's almost as good with the gentle fist as half of the elders in his clan, and that's really saying something considering he isn't even out of the academy yet. Itachi's only testing himself though. It may seem like Neji has him on the defensive but I'm sure they both know he's the one actually controlling the spare."

Shisui shot Shikamaru a thumbs up and a look of approval the Nara barely acknowledge as he watched the battle taking place.

Neji was launching yet another flurry of palm jabs and Itachi was now dodging them all in an impressive display of speed. He was getting more ajusted to the movements, he reacted faster to everything the Hyuga was doing but Neji continued knowing there wasn't really anything he could do about it. Itachi was using this spare to hone his reflexes basically but Neji didn't mind.

He was using the spare to train his Byakugan, his reflexes, and his mind. Regardless of being able to see through them Itachi's genjustu's still had enough of an affect to make Neji pause and in those moments Itachi would strike and Neji would need to react quickly.

Itachi launched a speedy counter attack just to distribute the Hyuga's rythm and flickered away. Tracing his movement with his Byakugan Neji predicted the path he would take and followed, throwing a smoke bomb as he reappeared and enveloping the area in a thick cloud of smoke where Itachi's sharingan would help, but would still fall short of seeing with the perfect clarity Neji had inside the cloud.

He created two rock bunshin that spread out at an acute angle from one another lining up on Itachi. One of the duo threw a kunai towards the Uchiha and the other rushed forward.

Itachi saw the shadow of the kunai as well as that of his adversary moving towards him inside the smoke. He allowed the kunai to approach knowing his next move would throw the Hyuga off. The kunai planted itself inside Itachi's chest with a dull thus, shocking Neji and his clones who saw him make no move to block the attack.

Suddenly Itachi's body burst into a flock of crows the moment the kunai touched him, and Neji and his clones shielded their eyes as the wings of the crows batted them in passing.

Thinking the crows were now gone the three opened their eyes only to come face to face with three separate crows each with a Sharingan eye. Neji felt and saw the genjustu take effect immediatly and he quickly pusled his chakra dispelling it imediately. An explosion went off and Neji could tell Itachi had just delt with his rock clones.

He gazed through the smoke towards the figure in the distance contemplating the best way in which he could disable his opponent. Itachi began moving towards him again and he readied himself. The figure of his opponent burst through the smoke and Neji again found himself in another taijustu battle.

The two continued as they were. Itachi would apply pressure and Neji would retaliate. Itachi would caste a genjustu as a distraction and he'd manage to land a few short blows on Neji before he was able dispelled the Illusion.

 **Shimura clan compound-6:54am**

Naruto's legs hurt from the ropes he'd had tied around him tightly binding him to a chair. He'd done a pretty decent job of escaping the first few times using a sealess shadow clone, but after Anko dragged Hinata in the room and tied her up next to him she upped the difficulty.

She tasked her clone with watching the two since Naruto could just continuously make shadow clones to free himself.

Seeing that the clone wasn't going to leave he'd preformed the hand signs for the multi shadow clone justu and created around thirty of them to make an attempt at forcing his way out of the room after freeing him and Hinata.

He quickly found out that Anko was no push over and she didn't even need to use her hands to fight. The snakes that came out of her sleeves were more than enough to get the job done.

Naruto was wracking his mind for a way to get himself and Hinata free and slip past the clone when he had an idea so brilliant it was like a lightbulb turned on somewhere next to his head.

He'd used show clones to untie him and hold off the clone Anko's pursuit, regular clones to distract her momentarily while he created more shadow clones to help him escape. The replacement justu, and a good old fashioned kunai, but now he was running out of options.

The clone was watching to make sure he couldn't make use of any of the strategies he'd already applied, but it's presence made any other plan he was able to think of seem bound to fail. Escaping the chair he was tied to was the easy part, but escaping the clone who's job it was to keep them there was another thing.

He looked to the Hyuga beside him and shot her and his eyes widened before his face morphed into a confident smile. Hinata looked at him curiously knowing he must have come up with something to have developed such a pleased look. She did wind up averting her eyes slightly as a way to hide the small blush that made it's way to her face upon being meant with the blondes smile, but he didn't really seem to notice.

"Do you trust me Hinata?"

Her eyes widened at the question and she took a moment to think about it before giving an answer that she wasn't entirely sure of. She liked Naruto, she admired him and hoped to one day get closer to him than she currently was, but she hardly really knew him.

She knew he was strong, kind, and smart although a little oblivious sometimes which she actually found funny, but other than that she couldn't say she knew much about him. The first thing Anko began drilling into her head when she began training with her was trust no one, not even her. Just because you were fond of a person didn't mean you should trust them.

Hinata didn't really understand the Shimura's way of wording considering the people she was most fond of she seemed to trust, or maybe Anko was just that good of an actor, or liar.

Hinata was glad to be on the short list of people she thought Anko placed trust in, but at the same time wasn't trust something one of the primary things that made people strong?

She knew if she said yes to Naruto's question she'd be disappointing the clone of Anko that stood watching them curiously and she'd be disappointing Anko, but if she said no would Naruto hate her? She didn't really think so but she also didn't want to risk it.

He offered her kindness she'd never even gotten from her family free of charge without even knowing her. He'd selflessly thrown himself in harm's way to give her a chance to run away. He was the first person besides her mother to actually believe in her and tell her she could be a strong shinobi one day if she tried. She could argue she didn't really know Naruto, but she could also argue that she knew him enough.

She knew that if he devised a plan of some kind then she would trust it fully without any doubts that it might or might not succeed. Regardless of what she'd been told she trusted Naruto with everything she had. By asking for her trust he was placing his in her, and she found she really wanted that. She really needed him to trust her for whatever reason...she didn't know.

"Of course I do, Naruto kun." She answered with conviction causing his eyes to sparkle more than they did usually.

Anko's clone shook her head in disappointment knowing it'd been the truth without even a hint of deception, but Hinata didn't notice her friends disapproval as her heart fluttered in her chest and she wondered just how anyone could mistake a smile so bright or eyes so blue for those of a demon.

If Naruto's eyes were the sky then his smile was the sun, and his personality held all it's warmth.

Why...why had someone like Naruto been delt such a cruel fate?

"Are you okay Hinata?" He asked noticing she seemed to be spacing out.

"I-I-I'm f-fine Naruto kun!" She quickly stammered before turning away and wondering if he thought it'd weird she'd just been staring.

"Are you sure your okay? Your face looks pretty red right now. You might be getting sick or something?"

"N-N-No...it's because of...o-other reasons." She said quietly, attempting to keep her gaze away from the blonde.

Anko's clone snickered into it's hand and Naruto observed Hinata for another moment before deciding if she said she was okay she probably was okay.

"Well I have a plan to get us out of here. Just follow my lead okay?"

"Okay, Naruto kun." Hinata said with a small smile.

She was hardly really used to having trust or faith of any kind placed in her, and the fact that it was Naruto only made it better, but also made her nervous. It was something of a double edged sword, but she was determined to prove herself worthy of his trust.

Naruto looked at Anko's clone and it smirked waiting for the blonde to try something. Naruto didn't even have to form hand signs to use the transformation justu anymore, but the puff of smoke didn't take Anko by surprise considering she was waiting for him to create more shadow clones.

When the smoke cleared her eyes went wide as Naruto was just gone without a trace. The ropes were still there but he was nowhere in sight.

The clone looked around the room bewildered, unable to deduce how the blonde just vanished right in front of her, but then a fly flew past her shoulder and she knew.

Suddenly the fly erupted into a puff of white smoke, but before the Hyuga or the Shimura could see the Uzumaki through the cloud and identical sounding poof started resounding all across the room accompanied by their own smoke clouds. All around the room Naruto clones we're popping into existence, but what confused them was that the clones seemed to be dispelling themselves.

She didn't understand it at first and she just looked on curiously till she noticed the clouds of smoke the clones left behind after disappearing were leaving a layer of mist/smoke around the room.

Another ten clones popped into existence and disappeared not even a second afterwards leaving yet another wave of white smoke. Anko found herself envious of the blondes capability to create so many shadow clones just to create his own home made smoke screen.

Anyone who bore witness would be impressed by Naruto's use of the transformation and then the shadow clone justu. No one had likely used either of them the way he just had. The room was almost completely shrouded in white smoke/mist. Anko could see a line of Naruto's in front of her, but behind them she still heard the sounds of shadow clones being created and then dispelled. The kid was really going all out with this one.

She rushed the five clones standing ahead of her knowing if she didn't get to the real Naruto soon she'd probably lose both him and Hinata in the white clouds she was sure had likely spread into the hallway.

The moment he had his shadow clones begin making clones and dispelling themselves Naruto rushed to undo Hinata's blinds knowing Anko's clone would have easily figured out his plan and attempt to shut it down. He was currently receiving the memories of a number of clones he created to directly stand guard over his position while he freed Hinata, so he knew he didn't have much time left to undo her binds.

Meanwhile Hinata was a bit bewildered. She hadn't even known it was possible to transform into something so small, but then again the transformation justu was without limits really. One had to have intimate knowledge of what they were transforming into, the skill/chakra capacity to actually transform into it, and the chakra necessary as well.

The bigger something was the more chakra it took, but the smaller it was the more chakra control.

She wondered how many hours of training it took for him to actually transform into something as small as a fly. She hadn't pegged Naruto to have such good chakra control, although she had seen him transform into a senbon. Inanimate objects were easier than sentient beings, and something as small as a fly had to take perfect chakra control as well as unmatched skill with the transformation justu.

Then there was the fact that the blonde had just created a platoon worth of shadow clones just to serve as a home made smoke screen. She could only stare at him in amazement while he worked on her bindings. Naruto was really amazing.

The Uzumaki begrudgingly reminded himself to thank Jiriya for insisting that he hone his chakra control. He also remind himself to thank Danzo for recommend he hone his stealth and infiltration skills a short while ago. Due to avoiding villagers so as not to be scowled at or called names Naruto was naturally good at being stealthy, but his problem was he always had to much energy to really apply his skill in most situations.

So he brought a book on insects and small mammals, created a number of shadow clones, and practiced the transformation justu for weeks till he could turn into flies, ants, and a number of other insects and small animals most would overlook without a second glance. He was still working on bird transformations. The hard part was learning how to fly without falling or crashing into a tree or something.

He finished untying Hinata and she wordlessly activated her Byakugan before grabbing his wrist and leading him through the smoke into the hallway towards the compounds exit. Naruto beamed at how she easily took lead and figured out his without plan without him having to tell her anything. He knew placing his trust in her had been the right thing to do.

After a short while of running through the now smoke filled hallways of the compound the two stepped just outside of the front gate when a whistle caused Naruto heard the whistle of a kunai a short distance away at the same time Hinata saw it it appear in her Byakugans vision. He skidded to a hault and pulled Hinata behind him swatting the kunai away with his own. Both first year academy students looked a distance away to see Anko standing in a tree a distance away.

 _"How was she able to throw that kunai so far?"_ Naruto thought.

 _"How was Naruto kun able to react to the kunai quicker than me? It can't be his hearing can it?"_ Hinata questioned.

"I destroyed close to forty shadow clones, that doesn't count how many dispelled themselves, and you still have enough chakra to stand up?" Anko questioned wondering if it was because of the blondes tenant, or if the kid was just really some kind of freak show.

Naruto didn't bother replying. He shifted into a battle stance knowing he and Hinata were about to be recaptured. When your jailer was stronger than you it was either outsmart them, fight back, or continue being caged.

Hinata moved beside Naruto and shifted into her stance as well knowing they didn't really stand a chance, but holding out faith that they might just be able to overpower the Shimura girl together.

Anko grinned at the two and remarked to herself that this exercise was over for the day. They were both really good for their age, and there was always other things one could be focusing on.

"We're done for today." The clone said before dispelling with a poof.

Just like that Naruto felt the memories of his shadow clones returning almost all in unison.

He combed through his memories and grinned having learned more in this morning than he had in the past month.

"Time to get headed towards the Monogahi compound." Anko said exiting the compound with both her sisters behind her.

"You're coming with us too Anko Nee?" Naruto questioned.

"Seeing as I have nothing better to do at the moment why not? Come on, I think we're late." She said leaping to one of the roof tops.

Inoha stopped in front of Naruto and ruffled his hair telling him he did good today before following behind Anko. Imari came up right behind her sister and pinched his cheek a little too hard with a smile that made him nervous.

"Don't think I forgot your little game yesterday Naru chan. What was it you were afraid of again...bees?"

Naruto paled at the wicked grin she was giving and opened his mouth to beg forgiveness but Imari would hear none of it and she simply laughed at his fear before steeling off after her sisters.

Hinata couldn't help but chuckle at the blondes look of fear. He seemed terrified by the prospect of whatever it was the older Shimura twin might have in store for him.

"I'll protect you from the bee's Naruto kun." She said aloud without really meaning to. She quickly clamped a hand down over her mouth and green cherry red hoping that he might be too absorbed in his thoughts to have noticed her declaration.

Naruto turned to look at her curiously and her face on lit up more when he shot her that trademark grin she was beginning to think might kill her someday. She couldn't breathe when he smiled like that, she could hardly even think.

"At least I know I can feel safe with you around. Thank you, Hinata chan."

The Hyuga's eyes widened and she jumped in surprise before her eyes softened and she return his smile feeling lighter than she had just a second before. Naruto really did trust her in more ways than one, which was weird considering they bar and kl both extended the same trust.

"You're welcome, Naruto kun."

 **I would've made this chapter longer but it's been a little while since my last update compared to usual so I wanted to upload it now but next chapter will pick up where we left off.**

 **@NiebieskiLis** Danzo certainly does have his ways when it comes to getting away with things, and Hiashi is far more lenient about things than he would have been if his wife died. The laws exist so people know their limits, but shinobi operate in areas of grey, and none so more than Danzo. I'm glad you're still enjoying the story. Thank you for the well thought out review :D

 **@Bonitalito** I'm glad you like the story and I made Sasuke younger than Naruto and the others because I want the age gap between him and Itachi to remain intact while I wanted the others somewhat closer to him Shisui and Hamura in terms of age. I have a few reasons why I wanted to do this, but generally it's because I wanted Sasuke to have the same relationship he did with Itachi as he does in the series, but I want the younger generation to be closer to the older. I hope my explanation was satisfactory and that you'll continue to enjoy the story.

 **@Knetterzak** Sorry about that spolier. I kind of thought everyone had already seen Attack on Titan so it wouldn't matter. My bad, I'll be careful not to do that again in the future. Glad you like the story :)

 **Dialogue**

 **Kasuf:** Orochimaru gets a body made of Hashirama cells. Way to break the story.

 **Shy:** It was actually something of a necessity. Characters like Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Hamura, Itachi and Shisui will eventually grow so strong that there will need to always be an adversary powerful enough to actually be a threat. And I honestly thought it'd be pretty interesting to the readers.

 **Kabir:** I'm not gonna lie, I'm interested.

 **Kasuf:** So Orochimaru's still gonna attack Konoha in the foreseeable future?

 **Shy:** Answering that question would be a spolier in a way.

 **Kasuf:** So say spolier alert.

 **Shy:** Shut up.

 **Kabir:** What purpose do Suigestu's siblings have in the story?

 **Shy:** I had to give him a reason to want to come to Konoha. In the series his only goal was collecting all of the mist swords and reestablishing the seven ninja swordsmen, but his only goal for now will be keeping his younger siblings safe. I have other plans for him down the line, some that involve Sasuke and some that don't.

 **Kasuf:** I like how you're creating a relationship between Izumi and Sasuke. Haven't seen that before.

 **Shy:** I figure Itachi and Izumi will face hardships in the future with the clan when pursuing a relationship. Having Sasuke, Mikoto, Shisui Hatsue and possibly Fugaku could help a bit.

 **Kabir:** Good chapter.

 **Shy:** Why thank you Kabir :D

 **Kasuf:** You really went in depth with the third great shinobi war though. Leave it to you to make a history lesson fun. Do more of that.

 **Shy:** Shut up!


	25. Chapter 16 Part 2

**I apologise for taking forever to upload this chapter but I have multiple reasons as to why, one being I wanted to focus on my other fics a bit since I'd been neglecting them in favour of this one. The other reason being I wanted to make it longer before uploading, but it'd be cruel to keep you guys waiting any longer so I'm just going to upload it and get started on the next chapter**.

 **Hope it's okay** **since I don't think I put as much time into it as I would most chapters.**

 _Observations_

 **10K Words**

 **Monogahi compound-7:03am**

Naruto and the others arrived at the training field a bit later than usual but no one questioned them on why this was. Upon seeing the Shimura group approaching Shisui and Hamura broke off from where they were standing to inquire with the blonde about his new look, but Naruto just waved them off saying he felt he could do for a few darker colors to help him out when it came to keeping a low profile.

The two accepted this and didn't bother prying any further even though they both had a lingering suspicion it wasn't really that simple. Although they couldn't quite place their fingers on it something about Naruto seemed different.

As Hinata watched the Uzumaki interacting with the genin she was somewhat surprised to see how he acted around people hadn't really changed. She thought maybe it was because Shisui and Hamura didn't know about his secret so he couldn't blame them. That or maybe he was putting on a false front even though that didn't seem to be the case.

Anko said he'd seemed rather upset when he'd been told the truth yesterday. As far as she could tell he didn't seem at all affected by it anymore. He was a bit less cheery than usual but he was still Naruto.

She couldn't help but worry about him a bit though. She hoped he wasn't bottling up how he felt.

Naruto was impressed to see Itachi actually keeping pace with Neji when it came to taijustu. He knew their eyes had a lot more to do with their battle than he knew but it was still pretty surprising to see someone who wasn't Inoha keeping pace with the Hyuga in an unarmed melee battle.

Inoha was similarly surprised to see Itachi holding his own against Neji using only taijustu. She caught the way Neji would periodically pause for just a moment and Itachi would use that split second window to apply pressure or land a blow on the Hyuga. The two were pitting their dojustu up against one another while fighting using only taijustu. It was obvious Itachi had the advantage but Neji was still holding his own quite well considering who he was up against.

Shikamaru looked at Naruto for a moment longer after the two nodded a greeting towards each other. One glance at the Uzumaki's eyes and Shikamaru knew something was different about the blonde other than his new outfit. While they still held all the brightness they held any other day it was as if they contained something...different. Something Shikamaru knew hadn't been there when he'd seen Naruto yesterday.

He didn't know what it was but he knew whatever the cause of it was something that had to have been significant.

Sasuke took in Naruto's new look as Izumi greeted the Shimura girls he'd arrived with. While he'd never actually admit it to the blonde or anyone else for that matter Naruto's knew look was much better than the previous. He actually looked like a shinobi trainie now rather than some kid in an orange jump suit playing ninja.

"It was about time you got some new clothes dobe. Those orange rags were starting to hurt my eyes."

Naruto turned towards Sasuke ready to fire back a quicky conjured insult before he stopped and asked himself was he really in the mood. After discovering his answer turned out to be a resounding no he surprised the Uchiha by just turning away.

"Teme gets some knew clothes and he thinks he's a badass all of a sudden." Sasuke silently fumed as Naruto's attention turned back towards the Hyuga and the Uchiha currently in battle.

Naruto knew that a few months ago he might have argued with Sasuke simply to receive some form of attention but he'd been around enough people by now to know what kind of attention he really liked to receive. He didn't particularly care for whatever it was Sasuke was trying to share.

He remembered when Inoha and the others explained to him how an enemy might use words to manipulate him during battle. Sasuke was attempting to use words to draw him into a verbal battle and he wasn't up for it so he didn't bother taking the bait. At the same time though he came to realize something.

Sasuke had a habit of insulting just about anyone and he often came off as someone with an air of superiority as did most Uchiha. It was generally how they saw themselves to be, above others and it usually showed itself when they interacted with those around them and Sasuke was no acception to this rule.

Naruto didn't think he acted that way towards others because it's just how he was. He thought he acted that way towards others because he really didn't know how to interact with people otherwise.

It made sense and it was actually a little hilarious to think about.

The Uchiha blamed his own inability to socialize with others on everyone but himself which was why he always seemed so grumpy and unapproachable. Trying to socialize was probably weird for him considering his brother and father weren't sociable people in the slightest and those are the two he would have had to learned from.

Looking or talking down on others was something he knew people expected of him as an Uchiha and it's the only way he actually knew how to express himself.

Naruto took a second longer to observe him through the corner of his eye feeling something close to pity oddly enough. Sasuke wasn't actually that bad once you got to know him. He did genuinely believe he was better or had the potential to be better than everyone else, but really he just wanted to fit in and didn't know how.

 **On the training field**

Neji was giving his all at this point and Itachi was hard pressed to keep up with him but to all spectators it seemed the Uchiha was hardly fighting back. He seemed to be waiting for something and throwing in the occasional counter here and there.

Neji's palms blurred as he pressed his opponent and Itachi's hand were a blur as he brought them up to parry every strike. It was easy to notice Itachi seem to have gotten faster and he'd developed a familiarity with the Hyuga's moves leaving everyone to wonder how it was possible for someone to improve so much in the span of one fight.

As Neji continued applying pressure to Itachi he brought his foot forward here and there attempting to step on the Uchiha's foot so as to hold him in place or maybe catch him off balance. Itachi was backing away as he parried to avoid being caught by this tactic. Suddenly Neji stopped advancing and Itachi knew what was to come next.

"Eight triagrams air palm!"

Itachi flickered out of the attacks path and waited for the Hyuga to close the distance readying himself immediately.

Neji reached him and their battle continued as it was. Itachi parried two palm jabs and twisted into a round house. Neji ducked under the kick and thrust his left arm forward. Itachi weaved to the right allowing the strike to go pass his head before grabbing the arm and using Neji's momentum to throw him over his shoulder. Neji's back hit the ground and Itachi let go of his wrist to go into his weapons pouch quickly throwing a kunai into the dirt next to the Hyuga's head before he could stand to symbolize the killing blow but to the crowds surprise Neji predicted this and rolled out of the way right before regaining his footing.

Neji rushed towards Itachi coming to a halt when the Uchiha burst into a flock of crows. Neji's eyes scanned the battlefield and the area around it immediately with Hyuga barley having to turn his head. A shadow was cast over the Hyuga's head and Neji looked up.

A loan crow hovered low in the sky casting the shadow Neji realized was only a distraction.

He tried turning around but a fist flew past his head symbolizing the finishing blow and effectively naming Itachi winner of their battle. Neji felt disappointed in himself for falling for such an obvious tactic but Itachi had played his hand well.

"Good battle." Itachi said dipping into a respectful bow as Neji did the same.

"I wanna go next!" Shisui called ready to rush forward.

"I'll rock paper scissors you for it." Hamura grinned sure that he could beat Shisui in this game.

"No way bro I already called it."

"What's wrong Shisui? You're not scared you'll got up against me if I beat Itachi?"

Shisui snickered, "Didn't you lose to Itachi last time you guys fought?"

"Yea! And that's exactly why I should go next! I deserve a rematch!"

The two began going back and forth with one another about who should have the right to spare with Itachi next when Shikamaru felt a chill go down his spine. Against his better judgement he turned around his eyes lazy dark eyes meeting a pair of penetrating hazel.

He quickly turned back around hoping he hadn't given off the impression of someone who would make for good prey. He'd hoped to stay off this girls radar for as long as possible.

"Who's the guy with the ponytail?" Anko asked Izumi recalling she'd seen the boy here a number of times but she'd never actually seen him fight.

Izumi looked to where Anko was pointing and Shikamaru swore under his breath knowing she'd soon answer the other girls question.

He hoped she would group him with Itachi rather than Hamura and Shisui, who she seemed fond of messing with.

"That's Shikamaru Nara, a friend of Naruto's and the next hier to his clan. He trains with Itachi Shisui and Hamura in the mornings and sometimes later in the day."

"Oh."

Without any further questions for Izumi Anko turned towards the last member of the group who's personal profile was somewhat obscured by a lack of knowledge. Itachi's little brother who Anko didn't really know. She'd seen him begin training with the others a while ago but for the most part he kept to himself and never really said anything. He never even opted to accompany them when they were going out to eat, the Uchiha just scowled at everything.

Being the ever curious information bank Anko was she had slowly begun to form a general opinion of him and she felt she was ready to pull it all together.

Sasuke Uchiha seemed to be an antisocial type of person but when he picked a spot to stand he usually didn't choose to stand away from the group but in the back instead. A short distance away but still close enough to feel like he was included.

She knew antisocial people usually had two classifications and she immediately identified the one he fell under.

There were those people who were antisocial because they'd rather not socialize with people and then there were those who were antisocial because they didn't know how to interact with others which was obviously what he was.

How he stood at the back of the group was a clear indication of the Uchiha feeling like he didn't belong. That or an indication of him attempting to distance himself from the others but if he truly wanted to distance himself he would stand a distance away from them rather than a short distance behind them.

His actions spoke of a desire to be a part of the group but apparently he was too shy or he was just too aware of how antisocial he was so he didn't bother to try. He subjected himself to being the outsider and practically growled at anyone who attempted to draw him away from his self imposed isolation because he didn't want to make an effort to belong.

Loners generally didn't want to be loners, it was just the hand that was thrust upon them by fate.

They eventually grew to accept it for what it was and rejected anything else because they'd already grown comfortable with what they were used to regardless of what it was they actually desired. The majority of them lied to themselves by saying that isolation was what they wanted. Generally it was only what made them comfortable but deep down they hated it.

What they truly wanted was to be both accepted understood by others.

Humans were sociable creatures by nature and being alone for prolonged periods of time was never good for sociable creatures of any species. Never ending silence and isolation only ever lead to enlightenment or insanity.

Sasuke was no monk so that left only insanity as his viable option. It was very likely that if he didn't have a family he might one day go insane as an effect of the loneliness he felt.

They said it was always the silent one's that were crazy and they weren't lying at all. The silent one's were the ones who had no one to talk to and no one who understood them when they talked. The silent one's were usually quicker to insanity because they didn't feel human anyway.

Anko actually felt a small tinge of pity for the Uchiha's situation and she wondered just how crazy he might go if someone happened to just slaughter his entire family one day..or perhaps even his clan.

She didn't doubt his condition would get worse and worse until he regressed into someone who saw nothing but revenge. If something like that did happen Sasuke would be better of dead as well she figured.

Anko had been lonely for a while after her mother died, refusing to let anyone including the escorts who claimed to have known her mother in. Her self imposed exile had resulted in her snapping on the first person to offer her any kindness or help in a long time, simply because she was comfortable with being alone so she hadn't known any other way to react.

She hadn't been mad Hamura had chased Jugo's thugs away like she pretended to be. She'd really been mad that someone had come along and done something for her without wanting anything in return. She hadn't known how to react so she reacted with hostility and suspicion like most humans do when faced with the unknown.

Hinata was antisocial for the same reason Sasuke was. She didn't know how to socialize with others so she never put forth any effort because it'd just make her feel uncomfortable. Unlike most antisocial people though Hinata didn't convince herself that she was okay without friends or that she actually liked being alone.

Anko understood antisocial people deeply because she was an antisocial herself. One who generally didn't like socializing with others.

Anko wondered what would have happened if she remained on the streets by herself forever, would she have went insane eventually? Maybe that's why certain people who thought in a different way then others were classified as they were.

Most would call her sensei insane and it made sense how he actually became the way he was. Danzo had told her the story of Orochimaru's 'descent' into what he was today and it all started with the deaths of his parents apparently.

Danzo likewise didn't have any family and most would call some of the man's methods extreme to the point of bordering insanity. Maybe those who went insane only did so because they had no one who cared or no one who understood them so it was easier to detach themselves from others.

It made sense from what she saw so far and it made her develop a new sense of appreciation as she gazed towards the Monogahi boy still arguing with the Uchiha over who got to fight Itachi next.

"Uchiha." A familiar voice that never spoke to him directly sounded in Sasuke's ear bringing him to turn towards the mischievous girl with the eyes that watched everything.

"You want something from me?" Sasuke asked guarding himself immediately.

"From now on you're joining me my siblings and Naruto for spares at the Shimura compound in the mornings." She answered not giving him the option of choice in the matter.

"What? Why would I want to join a bunch of losers for training in the morning when I ca-?"

Whatever he'd been about to say he didn't get a chance to say as a kunai flew past his head without so much as a whistle. In the next second he had his right arm pulled behind his back and his face shoved in the dirt, a foot planted firmly in his back holding him there.

"Is that a yes I hear Uchiha Kun?" Anko pured thinking she might actually enjoy herself a bit with her little groups newest addition.

Sasuke stammered something ineligible into the dirt and Anko chuckled still holding him in place.

"Call me Anko Nee chan."

Sasuke stammered something again panicking slightly as the dirt surrounding his face was currently cutting off his oxygen. Anko chuckled again and let go of his arm allowing him up to sit up draw breath. Sasuke released a few coughs and spit out some dirt before fixing the girl with the most murderous glare she could ever recall having directed her way.

It made her proud to be who she was for a moment and she had to fight a grin.

"What the hecks your problem!? You could have killed me just now!"

"It's okay Sasuke Kun." Anko cooed playfully. "I know you don't really know how to talk to people but oneesan is gonna make it all better."

Sasuke's mouth hung open momentarily as the junior kunochi's words surprised him beyond belief. First Izumi and now the crazy girl with the purple hair. Since when could anyone who wasn't Itachi understand him? Was he getting easy to read or was it just females?

The Uchiha quickly turned his back to Anko and stalked off, internally raging at the fact that a Shimura of all _things_ was offering him help to learn how to socialize with _people_. Did she know who her father was? That was almost as pathetic as a Hyuga reaching out and offering an Uchiha help with awakening the Sharingan..unbelievable.

 _"Itachi probably never has these problems."_ Sasuke stopped his internal rant momentarily. _"Stupid."_ He thought, berating himself for comparing himself to Itachi again even in light of the conversation he'd had with Izumi earlier.

Little did Sasuke know Naruto had seen the whole thing occur and he was glad to see he wasn't the only one who picked up on it. Anko might come off as scary or a bit mischievous...or even downright evil sometimes when she wanted to be, but she generally always meant well. He'd expected the Nara to catch on before anyone else and he was honestly a bit surprised.

Little did he know that didn't really apply to Itachi who'd always noticed his little brothers antisocial behavior and happened to also just seen what occured. When Anko pulled Sasuke's arm behind his back and forced his face into the dirt he'd experience a feeling cauldron of rage boiling within his stomach for a moment and his first thought had been to aim for her jugular but he knew the girl always meant well aside from her mischievous tendencies.

Only someone who was truly sociable could bring an antisocial out of their shell, but only an antisocial could understand another antisocial. He could leave Sasuke in Anko's hands for now trusting she would do no harm. If there was one thing that could be said about the junior kunochi with the purple hair and the deceptive smile it was that she wasn't afraid to toe the line in the slightest and she did it well if Itachi was any kind of judge. He would say she easily bore the Shimura name and she did it well. Anko Shimura was definitely a kunochi to watch.

Aside from Naruto not knowing Shikamaru had caught on he had. The Nara was a bit surprised at how quickly the girls attention had drifted elsewhere but without a doubt he was glad for it.

Shikamaru was antisocial for a reason as socializing with people gave him less time for sleeping during the day. Regardless of this he didn't mind meeting new people. However the older Shimura girl practically had a sign over her head that screamed bad news.

He couldn't help but feel like he'd just dodged a bullet on that one.

At least until he felt a spine chilling gaze at his back and he turned to see the very girl standing right behind him with a gaze that almost had a paralysing effect.

"So your names Shikamaru right? Mines Anko in case you didn't know." She said wanting to skip the introductions and get right to what she wanted to know. "What brings you here so often that you have a familiarity with everyone here without ever participating in any spars?"

Shikamaru swallowed the lump in his throat unsure of if he should answer or not. Telling the girl something so simple wouldn't result in him being placed on her list would it?

 **Konoha Main Street-7:13**

Kakashi arrived at the Hokage's tower before the anbu that'd been tasked with retrieving him. Upon seeing that the third left his window open he took it as an invitation. A brief sprint up the side of the building was all it took for Kakashi to reach the ledge outside the window.

He leapt into the office first seeing Hatsue Uchiha in her full anbu uniform right in front of the desk of the Hokage with Nubutaka Monogahi standing on the other side behind her . "Hokage Sama." He greeted freezing as he saw Yashiu standing just across the desk from Hiruzen.

After only a brief moment of confusion Kakashi was able to quickly pull the puzzle pieces in place. "Decided not to get yourself killed fighting Ame's new leader huh?"

"I guess you could say that. Why take up a suicide mission when I can just take out a request with your Hokage."

"A request with the Hokage?" He asked raising a brow and turning to Hiruzen.

"Yes Kakashi," The aged leader began, "That is in fact why you were summoned. This woman would like for you to vouch for her and her intentions."

Kakashi looked surprised at the statement.

"Vouch for her intentions? Besides the fact that she's a dangerous kunochi who tried to kill me in the land of rain I know almost nothing about her. She intends to kill her father's murderer, not for revenge, but for ruler ship of Ame, and apparently she's immune to poison. She has no true sense of honor but she does seem to have at least some morals. Really that's all I know." Kakashi said not understanding why exactly she'd think he'd be capable of vouching for her.

Hiruzen nodded more than satisfied with what Kakashi was able to share. The Ame kunochi had been telling the truth in all that she'd said. It was with this knowledge that he decided he'd go along with the proposition she brung forth.

"Very well then. I find the terms of the agreement we spoke of agreeable as long as you'll stick to your word. I'll have to bring this up to the council either tomorrow or in two days time."

Yashiu nodded grateful to the Hokage for accepting, and to Kakashi to some extent for unknowingly helping the man decide in her favor. She didn't really think she had morals but if other people thinking she did helped her to get what she wanted then she wouldn't bother telling them otherwise.

"Getting pardons for all of you will likely take a few hours and I'm sure you do not wish to be confined to a small room. You and your men wouldn't mind waiting outside the gates until I can get them finished would you?" Hiruzen inquired

Yashiu snickered earning a few laughs from her shinobi. "My men and I are fine with a holding cell." She said almost sounding like she'd enjoy as much.

"Very well. I'll need to hold on to each of your shinobi ID's so we can get a copy Hiruzen said appearing as if he wasn't the least bit surprised. "Kakashi would you please escort our guests to an anbu holding cell?"

The aforementioned shinobi momentarily wondered what'd happened to his day off but quickly got over it's lose as he felt himself more interested in finding out what exactly was going on. He decided he'd ask the Hokage about it later at a time that was more appropriate.

The Ame group all proceeded to walk towards the Hokage's desk and lay their ID's down as he requested. Kakashi patiently waiting for them to finish.

"Right this way." He gestured trying to cover his look of dejection at the thought of the paper work that was about to come his way.

The group was gone soon enough and Hiruzen sighed, stand and moving towards his filing cabinet to retrieve the blank pardon slips he'd need to fill out then have sent to the LPD headquarters to have signed by Fugaku before he sent them back. Hiruzen would then need to have them sent to Anbu headquarters to be signed by Kakashi before being sent back to him to be copied and sent back out to the police force and the Anbu once again.

The two would then need to send their own verification forms simply stating that both had notified their respective departments to the foreign shinobi presence in the Leaf village, and that the shinobi had been pardoned and were to be treated as guests rather then hostile. Hiruzen would then need to stamp a specifically colored Leaf eblem on their ID's before copying them and they would be good to go.

There was another matter to be seen to but the Hokage already had an idea as to how that could be solved so he'd cross that bridge when he came to it.

"Hokage sama." Hatsue called drawing the man out of his thoughts. "My squad mates are both unconscious and-"

"You have the day free Hatsue. See to it that you get them to medic."

"Thank you Hokage Sama." Hatsue bowed before walking over towards her downed comrades.

Before she could attempt lifting the two unconscious men Nubutaka lifted one piece of them up onto his shoulder. Hatsue shot him a grateful smile he couldn't see through the mask but he could see inside her eyes none the less.

"I will be calling on you two for matters pertaining to this one shortly." Hiruzen informed as the two were on their way to leave.

Both leaf shinobi nodded before proceeding to take Hatsue's injured teammate to rest and get checked up on at the infirmary.

 **Konoha: Public tea house-7:27am**

Fugaku and a number of other Uchiha were sitting at a rather large table that'd been brought outside for them to sit at for the meeting that was to take place today between his clan and Inoichi's.

The tea house they were currently sitting in front of was a tea house owned by none other than the self proclaimed strongest clan within Konoha.

Fugaku and most of his clansmen found it funny how the Hyuga had never claimed such a thing before the last war pretty much forced the Senju into extinction. How quick they were to forget that the only clan in the history of the elemental nations that was ever a threat to the Uchiha were the Senju.

The Hyuga thought that because the majority of the world saw their dojustu as superior to the Sharingan by all rights they were the superior to the Uchiha. The Uchiha of course thought otherwise.

The Byakugan definitely had it's advantages but the Hyuga name wasn't one that carried as much weight around the elemental nations as the Uchiha name.

No Hyuga in the elemental nations ever achieved such skill and notoriety that they had a flee on sight order issued to enemy shinobi who might cross their paths like Fugaku. No Hygua in the elemental nations had ever terrified an entire nation like Madara Uchiha. The Hyuga we're powerful that's something the Uchiha we're willing to admit, but more powerful than them?

If you asked an Uchiha they'd likely say that the Hyuga would be better off comparing themselves to a natural disaster than the carnal force of destruction that was the Uchiha clan. They had the visual prowess and the taijustu skills to match them on occasion but the Uchiha had reached levels in the past the Hyuga couldn't even dream of with their foolish emphasis on taijustu.

You'd think with as taijustu oriented as the Hyuga were that they would consider the Inuzuka be the their rivals but no. The Hyuga had to go overestimating themselves and claiming to be above something they could hardly even comprehend. The Uchiha clan would destroy the Hyuga if it ever came down to it and for the most part they truly believed that the Hyuga truly knew this. They we're simply lying to themselves by lying to the rest of Konoha, but it's not like the Uchiha truly cared, actions always spoke louder than words.

If the Hyuga wished to believe themselves so superior why shake them free of their delusions if it didn't bother them any? The Hyuga and their dojustu were worthy allows but them and their dojustu was nothing when compared to the Uchiha and the Sharingan.

Every time a sharingan was activated it forced it's bearer to relive whatever pain they'd gone through to awaken it so when fighting with their dojustu active the Uchiha always fought with pain in their hearts. It fuled them in battle, making them more ruthless in battle and giving them a greater motivation to defeat their opponents. A shinobi life was one filled with pain and sacrifice, not glory and nobility.

If the Hyuga truly understood this they wouldn't go around spotting a bunch of petty nonesense. Fugaku didn't care that his clan was stronger than the Hyuga's he just happened to know that they were.

The only clan besides the Senju the Uchiha ever truly considered to be a rival of sorts was the Haruno considering they were genjustu masters as well, and the clan had views that were nearly in perfect opposition to what the Uchiha tended to believe in. The Haruno likewise understood what it meant to sacrifice something for something greater, but the Hyuga had just grown over privileged over the years.

The Uchiha had to experience great pain to awaken and fully develop their eyes, while the Hyuga just had to focus enough chakra into them and they'd unlock their dojustu. They spoke of the Byakugan like it was so superior to the Sharingan but no one besides an Uchiha could ever even truly understand the eyes.

Every time a sharingan was activated it forced it's bearer to relive whatever pain they'd gone through to awaken it. Every time a Byakugan was activated it just relieved it's bearer of a bit of chakra and applied a drain same as the Sharingan.

Regardless of the Hyuga sacrificing nothing to awaken their dojustu the Uchiha didn't look at them in any particular way because of this. The Uchiha generally looked down on the Hyuga because they were in possession of a dojustu that gave them the ability to see at nearly 360 degrees for distances greater than that of a hawk, yet their entire clan specialized in close quarters combat.

If anyone had ever truly limited themselves they likely hadn't even come close to out doing the Hyuga who relied on taijustu as if they had no other option. It was essentially the same as if the Uzumaki who'd been known for their massive chakra reserves limited themselves to justu that barely consumed any chakra at all.

Why have a telescope that could hone in on your enemies from a great distance if you were only going to wait for them to get right under you to engage them in combat?

The gentle fist itself was very respectable. Most Uchiha would even bregrudgingly admit that the style was superior to their destroyer fist, but most Uchiha were also of the opinion that with a dojustu like theirs the Hyuga would do better to have specialized in long ranged fighting.

The gentle fist was something only Byakugan users could truly utilize, but it was only utilizing one of the Byakugans capabilities, which was the ability to see chakra points. With a dojustu like the Byakugan it would have been prudent to develop ninjustu that could disable the enemy at a distance before they even became aware of the Hyuga's pressence.

How a clan that didn't even fully utilize the potiental of their dojustu could call themselves superior to the Uchiha was something Fugaku and most of his breathen would never understand. Of course they chalked it up to arrogance on the Hyuga's part.

With the Senju gone and the Haruno down to only two living members the Uchiha had no rivals. The Yamanaka were illusionist and manipulators of the mind. The Uchiha were ninjustu and genjustu masters. It was fair to say the Yamanaka wouldn't serve as an appropriate rival for them either.

Usually the Uchiha wouldn't be caught dead inside or even around a Hyuga establishment but the Hyuga also owned the most upscale tea house's within the village and they could agree with the Yamanaka when they said this would be the most appropriate place for them to meet and negotiate with one another on neutral ground.

Fugaku knew he likely had more pressing matters to attend to waiting for him back at the police station but this was something that called for his attention at the moment.

 **Konoha shinobi academy-8:05am**

With the first day of the academy out of the way nobody had to be told where their class was so everyone arrived at different times as long as they were there before class started. With most of the class already packed it was something of a surprise when Naruto, Shikamaru, Sasuke, and Hinata all walked through the doors of the classroom together.

It was obvious to all observers the group hadn't just all happened to arrive at the same time. It caused a number of people in the classroom to wonder where they'd all been before their arrival, specifically a few female classmates who weren't particularly fond of Sasuke spending any time around the cute Hyuga girl.

Kiba was glaring at the group as they made their way to their sets but no one seemed to notice or pay it any mind besides Sasuke who sat right beside him and had no choice but to receive the stare full force.

"Well why wasn't I invited to the party!?" Kiba complained, Akamaru barking in outrage along with him.

"I don't know. Maybe it's because you talk loud and your breath stinks." Sasuke said sparing Kiba a half look of annoyance and another half look of disinterest.

"Didn't I tell you to watch how you talk to me goth boy!"

"Oh brother." Shikamaru groaned as Sasuke and Kiba began trading insults unwilling to back down or show the slightest bit of leeway to the other.

Naruto's head was on his desk as if he was catching up on a few Z's but unbeknownst to anyone besides Hinata and Shino he was silently laughing at the verbal battle taking place to his left. The argument finally came to an end when the two hiers found their own voices drowned out by loud insults the girls in the row ahead of them were throwing at each other.

Naruto looked up to glance towards the girl with the pink hair while Sasuke rolled his eyes knowing the argument likely had something to do with him while Kiba did the same but for different reasons. Choji kept eating his bag of chips as if it was the only thing in life that mattered and Shikamaru wondered if this would now be a daily thing because if so he would need to be get ear plugs.

Iruka sensei stepped into the room and cleared his throat. All talking ceased immediately as the teacher had been sure to make it clear that he was no push over during the first day.

Iruka welcomed the class with a warm smile waiting until everyone was seated before he began taking attendance. Satisfied once everyone was accounted for he moved towards the Black board and began to draw something more than a few of his students were already familiar with.

"Can anyone tell me what this is?" He asked addressing the class. A few hands went into the air and Iruka picked the first one he saw. "Sakura."

"That's a diagram of a healthy chakra network." The pinkette answered proudly.

"Good." Iruka said giving an encouraging nod. "And would you mind telling the rest of the class what a chakra network is?"

"A chakra network is the storage and regulation for all chakra inside the body. It's like our blood stream but a bit more complex and none physical in nature."

"Very good Sakura. Now those of you who've never heard of this before no need to worry. Chakra control will be our primary focus for this year's first trimester."

 _"Boorriing."_ Naruto Kiba Sasuke and Choji all thought at the same time. Too bad there wasn't an advanced class for first years.

Shikamaru grinned to himself. _"Sliding by easily off the knowledge and skills I already have doesn't sound too bad."_

 **0o0o0o0o0o**

Lunch time came quickly and slowly at the same time. Naruto sat at a table with Shikamaru, Choji, Sasuke, Kiba and a mysterious boy with dark glasses who'd invited himself to sit at their table but apparently didn't care to introduce himself.

Shikamaru had his head laying in his arms which he had rested on the lunch table. Naruto had no idea how the Nara was able to sleep with all the sound around the cafeteria but he managed to pull it off somehow. Sasuke and Kiba were both eating the academy's lunch with gusto while steeling the occasional hint at the others plate. Naruto wasn't a betting kind of guy but he'd bet his last pack of ramen Kiba would be the victor of the unofficial eating contest taking place.

Choji was eating his chips silently without a care in the world and the guy with the shades was just staring off into space.

Much to most of the classes disapointment there were no spares taking place today and the hours went by at an agonizing pace as the teacher assigned to the class schooled the students on things Naruto already knew. Hatsue and Jiriya had him covered when it came to knowledge of shinobi world history and pretty much everyone else helped him when it came to anything.

It made him wonder just how many people actually knew about his status as a Jinchiruki. As he pondered the thought his eyes roamed over the cafeteria and he saw something that brought a small frown to his face.

Sitting at the far end of the cafeteria at a table all by herself was an uncomfortable looking Hinata. There was a tray in front of her but it was untouched. The Hyuga was looking at the food with an expression close to sadness.

If Naruto had to guess at her look he'd say she was uncomfortable by herself but attempting to fit in at a table filled with other students she didn't know would only make it worse. She didn't want to be alone but she didn't want to get rejected or feel anymore uncomfortable than she did usually. He wondered why she hadn't come to sit with him and his group? True him and Hinata didn't really know each other well but the two were at least something close to friends he'd hoped.

Sparing a glance at his tables other occupants he realized none of them would miss him if he was gone for a few seconds. He stood and began making his way across the room.

"Hey Hinata."

The Hyuga girl startled turning around and seeing Naruto looking at her curiously.

"H-Hello Naruto kun.." She said toying with her fingers and avoiding direct eye contact.

"We're friends aren't we Hinata?"

"Are...Are we friends Naruto kun?" The Hyuga asked timidly somewhat afraid of the answer.

"I'd like it if we were so I'd say we are as long as you want to be."

Hinata's voice was lost at the moment and she could respond to the blondes offer in no other way than nodding her head. Naruto smiled at her response almost as glad as she was. Hinata was a good person, a talented junior shinobi, and apparently she admired him in someway.

"You wouldn't mind sitting at a table with me Shikamaru and the others would you? We're not much for company but I think we're better than what you have here."

Hinata chuckled at Naruto's attempt to be funny.

"I'd like that very much Naruto kun."

 **Konoha ninja academy-3:05**

The academy day was over before anyone knew it and most of the students were heading home for the day while some stayed behind to partake in the extra curricular classes.

Naruto was one of these students. As the hallways filled with students who were emptying out into the streets of Konoha on their way to head home Izumi and Inoha managed to track down the blonde within the chaos but he was staying behind for stealth and infiltration classes.

The two told him that they'd see him later and left leaving him to it. Naruto was surprised when he arrived at the class snd saw two new students. The presence of Sasuke and Shikamaru would make this class all the more fun as now two of the other junior shinobi in the class might be a worthy competitor or rival of sorts

 **Monogahi training field: 3:16pm**

Inoha and Imari arrived at their cousins compound intending to see if the training field was in use but they were intercepted by their cousin on the way.

"Nubutaka!" The two said startled at the man's sudden appearance.

"Hello my dear cousins! I heard you two caused the Hokage a lot but trouble recently."

The twins quiltily averted their eyes knowing exactly what he was reffering to. For some reason they'd never actually stopped to think of the consequences the situation might entail that didn't involve Naruto.

"I'd do it again." Imari grumbled still not looking at her cousin.

Nubutaka raised an eyebrow, almost chuckling since he clearly hadn't been meant to hear that. "Would you now?"

Imari's demeanor began to reflect how she was feeling inside. She looked very nervous, guilty, and upset, but mostly nervous.

"Yes I would." The girl said standing behind her belief that she'd done the right thing.

"And so would I." Inoha tacked on unwilling to leave her sister out to hang by herself.

The proud smile over taking Nubutaka's features surprised the two greatly considering they pretty much thought they were in trouble.

"As long as you two think you did the right thing who am I to tell you otherwise? Right and wrong are subjective terms anyway."

"You sound like my sensei." Anko said stepping from behind a nearby tree. "So good and bad don't exist to you either right? They're just petty terms?"

"Oh no. I just said they're subjective meaning they'll always be seen in different ways by different people. How can I not believe in good or bad? I do have morals you know..." Nubutaka grinned. "Your sensei sounds like a psychopath no offense?"

Anko shrugged in indifference. Her sensei likely wouldn't mind being called a psychopath. It'd likely earn a chuckle or two from the man who wouldn't even attempt to deny it.

"My sensei is a lot of things."

"Do tell." Nubutaka said attempting to mirror a childs look of exvexvi before story time.

"No." She said quickly shutting him down.

 **0o0o0o0o0o**

Shisui ducked underneath the approach fireball and blurred towards the figure that launched it. Hamura taking a page from Shikamaru's book dropped a paper bomb and flickered away detonating it not a moment later.

Shisui stopped himself mid flicker and flickered away in the small window of time, moving so fast he appeared to have just teleported.

The wind around Hamura started shifting and his hurricane armor came to life. He rushed towards Shisui and the Uchiha was surprised to see he was moving almost as fast as him now. Hamura's kunai began clashing with Shisui's and the two began a slow paced duel where they were really just testing each other and improving their reflexes. As the two spared Nubutaka and the Shimura girls were just arriving on the battlefield.

"I didn't know Hamura was so fast." Inoha commented watching two blur's clash with each other on the battlefield. "He's faster than you Imari."

The older twin frowned at the comment feeling as if her position as Shisui's kenjustu rival was being challenged. Since when had Hamura become so good at using kunai anyway?

"Girl's!" A voice greeted from behind them.

"Hatsue Nee chan!" The twins shouted in unison bear hugging the usually busy Uchiha.

"I heard you two recently caused the Hokage a bit of trouble."

The two let go and looked towards the ground guiltily.

"We couldn't help it Nee chan. Naruto deserved to know."

"Where is he right now?" She inquired wondering why he hadn't shown up with the twins.

"He's at the academy taking the extra curricular stealth and infiltration class." Imari answered smiling as she read Hatsue's expression. She didn't look upset with them at all, she just looked worried.

"Is he okay?"

"He's fine actually. He handled the truth better than anyone would have ever expected."

"Good." Hatsue said breathing a sigh of relief. "Now we need to have a little chit chat about rules and why you don't break them."

Noticing the Uchiha's demeanor do a 360 Anko turned ready to walk away when a hand laid itself on her shoulder.

"You aren't excluded from this talk either Mitarashi Shimura. I'm sure you could have stopped them but you choose not to..why?"

Anko began sweating under the Uchiha's penetrating gaze. Hatsue was likely the only person in Konoha who could inspire any amount of fear within the girl.

"I-I couldn't help it! Just look at those two, they're adorable! How was I supposed to tell those them no!"

"Well I guess that makes sense." The Uchiha said smiling at Anko's admittion. "So you've gone soft?"

"No! I'm not the kind of kunochi to go soft! I just happen to love my sister's."

Hatsue chuckled before turning baxbaxk towards the twins. She felt like she was supposed to berate or punish them in someway for their actions but they'd already said they'd only been doing what they thought was right. She couldn't punish them for that even if she didn't agree with them.

 _"I just hope my little angel is still an angel."_

 **Anbu HQ-3:20**

Morino Ibiki stood before a fresh batch of shinobi Kakashi just escorted to a anbu holding cell. He raised an eyebrow at the many things that made this sight a very peculiar one.

The copy nin was dressed casually looking as if he hadn't planned on coming in to work today or working at all for that manner. Why the anbu captain would be dealing with foreign shinobi while dressed in such a way was a mystery to Ibiki indeed. Not just that but the Rain country ninja he lead to the holding cell all appeared to be armed to the teeth while sporting only minor injures. Usually any foreign shinobi who visited the anbu facilities were bruised, bloody, broken, or burned.

Some of them came in inside body bags but none of them had ever come in with only minor injures with their weapons still on their person. This was a rare occurrence if he'd ever seen one here and Ibiki wanted to know what was going on.

He began walking behind Kakashi's group silently as was normal for Ibiki. The many scares on the man's face were in no way received from torturing people in a small room all day. They came from Ibiki's other role as an infiltrations expert. The man of many scares was capable of infiltrating just about any village and hiding there for longer than most shinobi. His experiences surrounded by enemies with no back up to speak of lead to his footsteps always falling with complete silence.

Despite this however one of the shinobi ahead still noticed him. A young lady with fiery amber eyes, long dark hair that fell all the way down her back but spiked out as it went, and an air of death about her. The moment their eyes meant Ibiki knew that this woman was on another level when it came to killing. She hadn't heard his foot steps but more likely she'd somehow sensed his life force.

He almost shivered as her gaze lingered on him for a few moments until she turned back around.

If he hadn't been interested before Ibiki was definitely interested now. At the head of the group Kakashi was also aware of Ibiki's presence. He wasn't a natural born killer raised to sheed blood and establish his dominance over everything he set his eyes on and claimed as his as Yashiu was. Kakashi was just a natural talent and his natural ability to sense rather than detect people nearby steemed from countless battles against enemy shinobi and every compromising situation he was faced with throughout his career.

 **Leaf Police Station-4:13pm**

Fugaku sat down in the chair behind his desk and sighed. Negotiations were less than favorable. Talks had gotten them nowhere and likely just set them back.

When all else failed to get the Yamanaka to budge Fugaku fell back on his last suggestion and demanded the blood of the man who's libido, or 'love', had gotten them into this situation. The Yamanaka refused to have one of their own punished for falling in love and the Uchiha demanded they hand over any rights they might have had pertaining to the child then. Of course they refused to do so and the Uchiha refused all compromise put forth in the way by the Yamanaka as well. In short the meeting ended with no ground being covered and both clans left with the budding thorn of resentment for the other growing in their chest.

 _"This situation will only escalate till it leads to physical violence against one another. There may only be one way to solve this matter but I was hoping to avoid that."_

 **Konoha residential district-4:22pm**

Tsunade sat on a loan stool watching as Lily focused her chakra into a specific point on her forehead. The girls growth rate was amazing and the Sannin attributed the ease with which she manipulated her chakra to her deficiency's when it came to her own body.

Without anyone present to help her there wasn't much Lily could do on her own so that left her to her with nothing to do usually aside from honing her chakra control. Tsunade didn't doubt if she kept up this pace she would be capable of cracking bolders and healing as good as any other med nin in a few years. Originally she'd opted to teach the girl out of pity, but now she hoped to actually turn the girl into a med nin of renown.

With all the talent she displayed Tsunade reasoned that it would be foolish of her not to place her in charge of some hospital somewhere in Konoha in a few years when she reached a certain level of maturity. Lily's only problem would be her timid mannerisms and her shy soul, but she could always get over that with time.

 **Konoha forest-4:26pm**

Jiriya sat on a high tree branch gazing out over the village in the distance. Things were more peaceful than they'd been in years. Konoha's new alliance with Kumo brought the villages inhabitants a sense of peace they likely hadn't seen since the rein of the first Hokage.

Although all seemed to be well with the world Jiriya just couldn't help but feel as if something was wrong. There was a very dark shadow looming over the horizon and he had no idea of it's origin.

He needed to get back out of the village and do some quality spy work soon, but he needed to make sure things were all patched up with his godson before he did.

 **Konoha street-4:31pm**

Hinata leapt to the low roof ahead of her so as to let a food cart wheeling down the road pass easily. The academy day was out and she had nothing better to do at the moment than wander around.

Her father was currently held up in a meeting with the Hyuga elders and her mother and uncle were attending the meeting at hid side. Her little sister Hanabi was being seen to by one of the clans caregivers and Neji was still at the academy.

She didn't currently know where any of the Shimura girls were and she wasn't as good at finding people as them. That left her with no one to spare against so she opted to listen to some of Anko's advice and explore Konoha.

Usually wandering around the village by herself would've made her very nervous but she actually felt rather calm and even proud of herself to some measure. Anko had told Hinata that a big part of getting over her lack of confidence was doing things that made her feel nervous.

This was one of those things and she felt proud of herself for not needing the Shimura girl to come hold her hand as she did it. She always pulled strength from Anko's presence and used it to boost her confidence. She was one hundred percent sure that had Anko not been present and in danger of receiving punishment she would have never stood up to her father. She was certain if it wasn't for Anko's influence she would have never felt confident enough to believe she could beat Naruto.

She was more appreciative to the Shimura than she would likely ever know and she wanted to make her proud. So instead of going to the Shimura compound and asking one of the NEE operatives always stationed around it to find Anko like she might've done usually she boldly decided to face one of her fears.

She smiled to herself wondering when exactly she'd become so brave. Maybe standing up to her father had did more for her confidence than she would have ever thought. She could hold eye contact with most people easily now and she didn't stutter nearly as much as she used to. Usually she only stuttered when Naruto was involved or when she was surprised.

She giggled to herself all too aware of the warm feeling in her chest and the warm feeling in her cheeks.

Naruto had asked her to be his friend today, and not only that, but he reached out to her when she was alone and invited her to join him and his friends for lunch. She didn't think Naruto would ever want to be friends with a plan girl like her when all his friends were so eccentric.

Sure they'd just started the academy but it was already plan to see that the group Naruto was now apart of were already on their way to being friends. All of them besides Sasuke Kiba and Shino pretty much already were friends. Naruto and Choji bonded at lunch over their love of food and Naruto and Shikamaru had already been friends before they started the academy.

The blonde was so unlike her it sometimes made her wonder if he could ever have the same feelings towards her that she had for him.

Naruto was bright, confident, enthusiastic about most things, empathetic, and easily sociable. Hinata was shy, always unsure of herself, usually too nervous about new things to show any enthusiasm, too antisocial to be truly empathetic, and she was about as lively in groups as a rabbit was surrounded by a pack of wolves.

Being around the blonde made her more nervous than anything so if she was to follow Anko's advice she should spend more time around him she reasoned. That would likely do more for her confidence than anything she could ever think of.

 **0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Izumi was in her after school class learning exactly how much chakra she needed to heal certain wounds when movement outside the window caught her eye.

Sitting on the ledge outside was black crow looking inside the class but sparing no one save her any mind. Izumi smiled brightly at the crow when she noticed the Sharingan in it's eyes. Either it was one of Itachi's crows or it was Itachi himself using the transformation justu.

The crow nodded it's head as if to say it approved of her taking up extra studies and flew away.

Izumi's already fair mood brightened considerably. Her and Itachi hadn't spent any real time together in months and it was good to know she wasn't the only one who missed her best friend.

 **0o0o0o0o0o0o**

The crow he'd summoned returned only minutes after he'd sent it out to check on Izumi. He held out his arm and it landed, careful to avoid stabbing him with it's sharp talons. Itachi's eyes and the crows made contact and after a few moments the Sharingan in the birds eyes faded.

Itachi smiled at the memory he received before nodding and allowing the crow to dispell. Apparently she'd missed his presence as well over the passing months.

Admittedly he'd really started to miss her smile over the last couple of weeks. Sometimes he'd think about her at night as he, his sensei, and his teammates lay somewhere far away from the village on a mission of some kind that required days or even sometimes weeks of travel and time outside the village.

Izumi's smile was one of few things Itachi could say was right with the world. The world didn't look so bleak as long as it had someone with a smile like that inhabiting it. Sasuke's smile had that effect because he was Itachi's little brother and the two loved each other fiercely, but with Izumi it was different.

He didn't know why her smile was so important he just knew that it was and it brought him some sense of comfort. He'd always liked Izumi's smile but he'd begun to appreciate it more after that day when he thought she'd died by the hands of the Shimura girl. Everytime she smiled his mind would bring him back to the moment when he thought he'd never before see that smile again.

It made him appreciate Izumi more than he had previously. He hadn't known exactly how important to him she was until the moment he thought she was dead and he actually appreciate Anko for opening his eyes somewhat. On that day as he and Izumi enjoyed the company of each other at the festival Itachi became all too aware of the many risk she would face as a shinobi once she graduated the academy and it worried him.

A part of him wanted her to decide she'd rather not be a shinobi and drop out of the academy, but he chose not to acknowledge that part of himself. No doubt Izumi worried about him as well when he was away from the village, yet she never attempted to dissuade him from his path and he owed her the same even if he'd rather not admit it to himselt.

 **Yea I really cut the chapter short to upload it sooner but I think I've already laid the groundwork for the next chapter since this one should've been much longer.**

 **@Gothgirl2186 Sorry it took me so long. I probably would've took longer if I hadn't read your comment and realized it had been a while since my last upload. I hope this chapter didn't disappoint and that you're still reading.**

 **Dialogue**

 **Shy:** Comments?

 **Kasuf:** You wrote this chapter too long ago for us to have any comments on it without re-reading the whole thing.

 **Shy:** Well try.

 **Kasuf:** Kakashi needs more screen time. Ibiki needs more screen time. Orochimaru needs more screen time. Danzo-

 **Shy:** Okay Kasuf, I won't ask you anymore questions about this chapter you sarcastic ass. Kabir?

 **Kabir:** I thi-

 **Kasuf:** Who said I was done? I wad giving my honest opinion on the chapter before u so rudely cut me of-.

 **Kabir:** You're done bro, just shut up and give me my turn.

 **Kasuf:** I will cut your stomach open and feed your intestines to the nearest desert coyote if you dare interrupt me again you ignorant plebacant.

 **Kabir:** Pleb is a word but I don't think plebace-

 **Shy** Guys!

 **Kabir:** Right. I think it's all getting a bit more interesting as it goes if not a bit confusing at times. This fic is all over the place and I have no idea what direction it's heading. What exactly are you doing here Shy?

 **Shy:** Just going crazy with the creative liberties I'm afforded as a fic writer! I think mid way through the fic people will give up on trying to predict what'll happen next.

 **Kasuf:** We aren't midway through yet?

 **Shy:** Nope, not even close. First we have to reach the point where my original rough draft of this fic ends and that's at the end of Team twelves chunin exams. Really the story has just barely begun.

 **Kabir:** You're not worried you're throwing too much on your plate with this fic are you?

 **Shy:** No! You guys always have my back anyway so I'm not worried. If it gets to be too much you can write for me while I dictate the lines in which the story wi follow along with how the plot will develop.

 **Kabir:** Why not have Kasuf do it since you two are already working on a fic together?

 **Shy:** Because Kasuf is too lazy to write a fic by himself, not to mention he's a bit crazy. Kasuf's first order of business would be seeing which characters he could kill off and how much torture is too much torture.

 **Kasuf:** She isn't lying you know.

 **Kabir:** We that's interesting I suppose, and speaking of torture I guess we'll be seeing a lot of Ibiki from this point on?

 **Shy:** Either more or less of him than you'll likely expect, but yes we'll be seeing him every few chapters or so from this point on..maybe.

 **Kabir:** I think Iruka would make a better match for Yashiu.

 **Shy:** Who says I'm going to pair them off with one another? I could just be planning to have one of them torture the other to death for shits and giggles.

 **Kasuf:** Now we're talking!

 **Kabir:** I think Kasuf is beginning to influence you just a bit too much.

 **Kasuf:** Can't have too much of a good thing.

 **Kabir:** Yea and being crazy is real good right?

 **Shy:** Well being normal is no fun.

 **Kabir:** Oh goodie, because first thing I need is two Kasuf's.

 **Shy/Kasuf:** _*grins*_


	26. Chapter 13 Part 3 (06-14 09:09:04)

**I wanted to make this chapter longer but I'll just have to add everything I was trying to fit into this chapter into the next. I honestly didn't know what to name this chapter so I named it in honor of one my favorite characters. I've went back and re-read some old chapters and I want to apologise for all the typos. I'll try my best to proof read my chapters from now on and I'll be going back to correct the old one's gradually.**

 **I appreciate all the favorites and follows, and I hope you all enjoy the chapter. I do my word counts before putting in these authors notes and other commentary incase anyone was wondering.**

 _Just like a snake_

 **16K Words**

 **Konoha Shinobi Academy-6:00pm**

Naruto was just exiting the academy with Shikamaru stretching his arms and letting out a yawn to his right. Sasuke was on his left, walking with his hands in his pockets wearing the same perpetual scowl he always wore. Despite appearances he was pleased with himself for picking up on the stealth exercise they underwent in class quicker than the rest of the students, but he was also ticked off at how Naruto still managed to out do him with seemingly no effort.

As the class had been going on the blonde figured it might be a good idea to show off and transformed into a fly. Doing so had shocked the entire class into a silence so thick Sasuke swore he'd heard a pen dropping down the hall. After seeing how easily Naruto could do something like cover his tracks and travel in complete discretion their sensei questioned why he even decided to take the class when the transformation justu would likely be all he ever needed should he get assigned to or decided to take on an infiltration mission.

The blonde surprised those who were present with his insight when he remarked that not all infiltration missions were solo operations. He reasoned that it would be better if he was able to travel alongside his comrades when times called for it on such missions and operations.

The teacher inquired as to if he wanted to become an infiltrations expert or a spy of some sort and Naruto replied by saying he wanted to be a shinobi who knew no bounds. He wanted to be just as comfortable gathering intel behind enemy lines as he would be on a battle field somewhere.

"But what about medical ninjustu?" The teacher had inquired wondering if there had ever existed ninja who was truly boundless when it came to the shinobi arts. As far as she knew every shinobi in the history books specialized at one thing or maybe a couple. She'd never before heard of a jack of all trades kind of shinobi who actually excelled.

Naruto looked surprised for a second till his face broke into a grin and he promised to add medical ninjustu to the list of things he'd make time to study in the future. A little flabbergasted by the blondes drive to excel the teacher returned to drilling them on the stealth exercise they were learning while Sasuke turned and mouth the words 'show off' in the Uzumaki's direction.

Truly he was at a lose as to how he was supposed to keep up with Naruto when the blondes learning curve easily exceeded his own. With the way things were the dobe would just get further and further away from him in terms of skill.

He tried to keep himself from dwelling on the large gap between him and Naruto that seemed to only be widening in lue of his conversation with Izumi but it was much easier said than done. He wasn't one who liked to show off or stroke his own ego but he was something of a competitive person by nature.

No one in their year should be ahead of him as far as he was concerned yet Naruto and even the lazy Nara to his right somehow managed to beat him out.

"Incoming enemy projectiles at eight nine and twelve!" Shikamaru shouted breaking Sasuke from his thoughts.

He immediately turned to one of the aforementioned positions finding Shikamaru and Naruto already reacting to the new threat. Naruto had somehow detected the threat before either of them and he was already in the process ofq knocking away the shuriken flying at them from eight and nine while Shikamaru stood where he was blocking the projectiles that flew in from right in front of them.

Naruto created two shadow clones without the use of hand seals and immediately took off into the tree's beside the academy intending to get to their assailant before they were able to get away or launch another surprise attack. Shikamaru stayed where he was and stooped down, picking up one of the ninja star he'd deflected and taking a moment to observe it as Sasuke's eyes scanned the area for anymore unknown parties.

 _"These ninja star aren't the kind that are weighted in the tip like an assassin would favor. They're evenly weighted meaning someone who doesn't use shuriken enough to care about the quality is behind this. That eliminates the possibility of an assassin and if someone really wanted to hurt us it would've been best to have caught us all alone, meaning this might just be some sort of test."_

Letting the ninja star fall from his hand Shikamaru turned towards the direction Naruto raced off towards.

"Come on." He called to Sasuke before sprinting into the forested area next to the academy. _"My gut tells me it's nothing serious but my brain says it'd be stupid if I didn't check anyway."_

Sasuke made a sound of annoyance but wordlessly followed Shikamaru into the tree's figuring the Nara wouldn't intentionally steer him in a harmful direction.

 _"I guess I don't have any choice since the dobe will probably get himself killed if we don't follow."_

Catching up with the blonde a few seconds later the two found him and his clones holding battle stances which was odd considering there was no enemy to account for in sight.

"Stay on guard. I could be wrong but I get the feeling whoever threw those shuriken is still around." He warned earning nods from both of his fellow junior shinobi.

All was silent and seemingly at peace as was usual inside the hidden leaf forest.

Naruto and his clones stood at the ready with kunai drawn, their backs facing each other so an enemy had no way of getting the drop on them unless they approached from below or above, a survival tactic he'd learned from Anko just earlier that day. Oddly enough he'd never before thought of it before since he saw his shadow clones as disposable.

Sasuke and Shikamaru stood not far away from Naruto knowing he wasn't on guard for no reason so they were sure to keep their guards up as well.

The three stood there taking shallow breaths and listening carefully for any sound that might indicate an oncoming attack. Sasuke and Shikamaru both took up overwatch in the tree's so that they would be better guarded against attack, plus it would improve their chances of seeing anyone who made a move on Naruto. They all waited there in silence holding the same positions for what had to be at least five minutes or more.

Just as Sasuke was about to comment on this being stupid a number of shuriken flew from the tree's. Not to be out done so many times in one day he was quick to intercept them with his own shuriken in an impressive display of accuracy considering there wasn't much distance between their group and the tree's the projectiles flew in from.

Steel clashed against steel and the majority of the shuriken feel to the ground as their kenetic energy caused them to cancel out each other's movement, however the few he'd missed were coming directly towards the Uchiha. He raised his arms in an attempt to shield himself from the deadly projectiles and something hit his foot tripping him and causing him to lose balance. Suddenly he was falling out of the tree he'd stood in, landing safely inside some sort of net that closed and wrapped around him the moment he touched it.

The other two junior shinobi looked towards their now trapped comrade unaware of what exactly had just happened in such a sort amount of time. Before they could move to go free him Shikamaru felt something strike him in the back of the neck causing his conscious mind to waver and drift off before he'd even taken two steps towards Sasuke.

The Nara fell from tree branch he'd been on as well, startling Naruto who breathed a sigh if relief when something he couldn't see glinted in the light and latched onto his friends leg, stopping him just a few meters above the ground.

He heard a grunt coming from Sasuke's direction and looked towards him noticing he was unconscious just as he caught the memories of his now gone shadow clones being assaulted by something they never had the chance to notice, same as the other two academy students who were now currently both unconscious and hanging from a tree.

He whirled around feeling as if some invisible force might strike him down at any moment same as his friends. He'd been standing back to back with his shadow clones and yet they'd still been taken out without him or them noticing their attacker. A pair of arms snaked themselves around his shoulders and he froze.

"I didn't want to scare you and your friends like that but I had to get ride of them for a moment so we could talk." Came the voice of the last person Naruto would ever expect to launch an attack on him.

He resisted the urge to laugh as the arms around him finally became visible and erased his former tension.

"You could have just asked them to give us a few seconds Hatsue Nee."

She chuckled softly tightening her embrace as she mentally turned over the subtle shift she felt in the blondes energy.

"I wanted to test them out a bit since they're your friends. You don't think they'll mind do you?"

"Knowing Shikamaru he'll probably be grateful for the short nap." He paused as he looked to Sasuke. "Duck face isn't likely to be too happy about it though."

Hatsue looked towards the boy two of her shadow clones were pulling out of the net she trapped him in with amusement.

"Well hopefully he doesn't hold a grudge against me for it. How have you been feeling otouto?"

"I've been fine but I'm really looking forward to the look of Sasuke's face when I tease him about what happened." He said beaming in the direction of the Uchiha he couldn't wait to tease.

Hatsue smiled unable to see anything but the top of his head since she had her arms wrapped around his shoulders, but she could still tell he was grinning. The twins were right when they said he was handling the truth better than anyone would have ever expected. He outwardly seemed to be unaffected by it but the air about him still felt different somehow.

"That's all well and good Naruto kun, but I mean how are you feeling about the things that you've had revealed to you recently?"

"Oh." He said sounding surprised. "So you knew about that too?"

"Yes." She admitted hoping he wouldn't hate her for it. She was still hugging him but she didn't need to see him to feel his confusion.

Resting her chin lightly atop his head she waited for him to get his thoughts together.

"How come you don't hate me like everyone else?"

The anbu lifted her head up more than a little surprised at the question.

"Not everyone hates you Naruto, and it's because I took the time to get to know you and I realized you were an angel." She said nuzzling the side of the blondes face with her cheek knowing how much it embarrassed him even when no one was watching.

True to what she expected Naruto's face reddened before he groaned and made a half hearted attempt at pulling away.

"I thought you wanted to talk about something serious?"

"I did." She replied letting him go so he could turn and face her directly. "I can't help but want to cuddle my angel otouto every now and then." She chortled happily.

Naruto wanted to act disdainful of her coddling but he couldn't stop himself from smiling instead.

"You didn't take off work just to check on me did you?"

"I would have if I had to but luckily it wasn't necessary. I'm here to ask you how you really feel about all this. You're bottling something up and until you let it go you won't feel any better."

"I already cried oneechan." He answered looking somewhat embarrassed at his statement. "I'm not bottling anything up. I let it all go-"

Naruto's tongue caught in mouth when he saw the kunochi's eyes narrow just before the cold red glow of her Sharingan replaced the usual warm obsidian of her eyes. She crossed her arms and looked at him reproachfully. Naruto swallowed the lump in his throat and began combing his mind for the right words.

"You don't have to tell me the truth if you don't want but you're not going to lie to me either." She said closing her eyes for a moment.

She opened them and the previous ice of her glare was replaced with a look of concern and the crimson was replaced with the usual oynx. "I'm always here if you need me Naruto."

Naruto opened his mouth to say thank you but instead he found the words he really wanted to say slipping past his lips.

"Why does it matter so much if I said I'm over it. The only reason anyone cares is because I'm a Jinchiruki."

The warmth that'd graced Hatsue's expression a second before was replaced with a look that made Naruto regret his statement. The concern in her gaze was gone and in it's place was a look of betrayal. For the first time since he'd meant her on that night she dubbed him an angel he saw her eyes fill with what looked like pain.

"It's never mattered to me what you were or are Naruto kun. I just want to make sure you're really okay."

"I'm fine." He deadpanned attempting to veil his agitation along with the small bit of guilt he was now feeling.

Hatsue didn't say anything to counter that statement. She remained quiet and Naruto kept his gaze away from hers feeling thoroughly chastised by the weight of her silence. He knew she wouldn't budge an inch until she got what she wanted. She could be just as stubborn as he was when it came to matters of her loved ones.

His fist balled at his side and he sighed but realized he had nothing to lose so he might as well get it over with.

"It hurts to know the villagers actually hate me for a reason." He lamented pulling on the feelings he knew she was looking for. "Not just because I'm an orphan or because they're all stupid like I thought. What really hurts is how no one told me anything about my parents or my situation. I understand it was for my well being but they should have trusted me."

Hatsue placed a hand on his shoulder and nodded sympathetically.

"You'll never understand their reasons until you ask them about it. I'm sure Jiriya and the Hokage have their own reasoning we just aren't seeing. You should try hearing them out." She suggested taking note of the furrowing of his brow and the hastening of his breathing that was a clear indication of aggravation.

"I don't want to hear them out! I know why they kept the truth hidden from everyone else but I want to know why they hide it from me! I just don't really feel like talking to or seeing either of them right now." He expressed cooling himself down a bit as he hadn't meant to allow any of his anger to spill to the surface.

It'd taken him a while but eventually he had come to understand what Neji Inoha and the others had been saying when they told him nothing good usually ever came from untempered emotions.

Hatsue could only nod her head in understanding before asking why he seemed to be specifically upset with just those two people when nearly everyone around him knew. Naruto looked at her and realized he'd never actually thought of that. The more he thought about it though the more fustrated he grew which was why he burried the feelings he couldn't get over in the first place.

Caught up in his thoughts he subconsciously began pacing back and forth while searching himself for the answer.

"Since I meant my so called 'God father' I've constantly begged him to tell me about my parents, but besides saying they were great shinobi he never told me anything. He could have at least dropped a few hints or something considering he was closer to them than anyone. Now that I realize he's been keeping this big secret from me I'm starting to resent him for other things, like not being there for me the first few years of my life even though he's my God parent."

Hatsue nodded finding that perfectly understandable. In fact when she discovered the man was Naruto's God father she'd ruthlessly chewed into him for years of neglect regardless of his status as one of the worlds most powerful shinobi. To her surprise he'd simply allowed her to tear into him with his head held up and a clear look of shame in his eyes. The man admitted to knowing he was wrong and for that she'd forgiven him but the person who's forgiveness he really needed was the blonde boys who he'd pretty much abandoned.

"And the Hokage?" She questioned really just wanting to give him an excuse to vent.

Naruto seemed to grow even more inflamed as he stopped in his pacing to shoot a glare in her direction that wasn't really meant for her but the question she asked.

"You mean the man who instead of following through with what my father wanted chose to keep my heritage a secret? Danzo told me the Hokages reasoning for not telling anyone who my parents were was to keep me from being a target. I find that funny considering practically all of Konoha knows I'm a Jinchiruki anyway. That pretty much makes me more of a target than anything else ever could have. Keeping my heritage a secret was just cruel and unnecessary as far as I'm concerned."

Hatsue nodded as she had to admit to herself that that was the truth. Maybe the Hokage had been a bit short sighted in how he handled the situation, but then again she could only remark to herself that only he could know his true reasoning behind things.

"Regardless of me being a Jinchiruki, if the village knew I was the son of the forth Hokage they would have treated me better and he took that option away and acted blind to the fact that the villagers treat me like a monster for being a walking sacrifice."

"I just feel kind of betrayed you know." He said allowing his head to drop somewhat as his mood became rather melancholic.

Hatsue felt her heart constricted at the sight of the saddened Uzumaki. She reached out pulling him in for a hug hoping to cheer him up or just provide some form of comfort.

"I understand why you feel the way you do and I'm sorry for not knowing what to say to make it feel better. I know you aren't looking for any but my advice would be to go talk to them whenever you feel like you're ready..so you can better understand why they did what they did. Even if it upset you I'm really glad you decided to talk about it."

Naruto remained silent allowing himself to clear his mind, cool off, and just enjoy the warmth of the Uchiha's embrace. He knew without a doubt his oneechan would always have his back and it made him glad to have meant her at the festival what seemed like a lifetime ago.

"I didn't come here just to pester you about how you were feeling though Otouto." She addressed with an audible grin. "I actually came here with something of a surprise for you."

Naruto's head shot up and his eyes filled with wonder and curiousity at the mention of a surprise.

"Is it Ramen!? Please tell me it's Ramen oneechan!!!"

She couldn't help but laugh at how quickly his mood seemed to change when Ramen was involved but she shook her head no a little sad that she had to disappoint him.

"I'm sorry angel but that'll have to wait for later. I'm actually here to bring you to the Monogahi compound. Nubutaka says he has someone there he thinks you'd like to meet."

Naruto raised an eyebrow wondering who that could be.

"I guess that explains why Imari and Inoha aren't here but what about those two?" He asked pointing at the unconscious forms of Sasuke and Shikamaru.

Hatsue looked at the still unconscious junior shinobi and motioned towards her shadow clones who moved to pick them up. "They'll bring them to the compound for us and you can meet them there later."

Naruto smiled and nodded his head before a fun idea crossed his mind.

"Race you there Hatsue Nee!" He said taking off through the trees back towards the streets of Konoha.

Hatsue looked after him in surprise for a moment before she grinned and took off after him, the competitive nature of the Uchiha clan that ran through her blood compelling her to win.

 **Konoha Shinobi Academy-6:04Pm**

Since the twins choose not to participate in any of the extra circular courses at the academy they left once the regular school day was over. Surprisingly most of the shinobi hopefuls in the academy's advance class for second years opted to attend the same extra course Naruto Shikamaru Sasuke Izumi and Neji had decided upon.

When stealth and infiltration classes let out it was almost as if school was letting out for the first time today considering Izumi could see most of her class exiting the building with her as she left. She and Neji were surprised when they didn't see Naruto Sasuke and Shikamaru outside considering they left right before them.

Figuring their juniors had already left the two began walking along the road to Konoha's Eastern gate since the compound they sought happened to be along this route so naturally they would travel together.

"Izumi Chan."

"Itachi!?" Izumi exclaimed whirling around towards where she'd heard the voice.

Her gaze landed on nothing and she combed the street with her eyes knowing she wasn't imagining things. Neji looked at her in bemusement wondering why she thought Itachi was nearby. He hadn't seen or heard any indication that lead him to believe the Uchiha was anywhere around them.

He raised an eyebrow at Izumi as she looked around in confusion. "You didn't just hear Itachi call my name did you?"

"I didn't hear anything." He answered gazing up and down the street. "Are you sure you aren't hearing thi-"

"Neji san."

Neji startled and whirled around looking for the source of the voice and Izumi perked up looking at him with inquiring eyes. "You just heard him too didn't you?"

He nodded still looking around for the Uchiha he was sure had just called his name. Wordlessly he poured chakra into his eyes bringing his Byakugan to life and scanning the area around them. To his surprise standing right in front of him and Izumi was a bundle of chakra coil's inside of a familiar looking humanoid shape shrouded by some sort of chakra film not entirely unlike a genjustu but different.

Neji looked directly towards Itachi with an amused grin. "Nice way to test the world reflection justu Itachi."

Izumi looked confused as she gazed between Neji and the spot he was looking at. The light began to shimmer and the form of Itachi's revealed itself standing before them with a cool smile.

"Izumi chan, Neji san."

Izumi sighed glad to know she wasn't hearing things or going crazy. "Don't rattle me like that Itachi."

"Couldn't resist. I wanted to see what Shisui and Hamura find so appealing about this justu and I saw the perfect opportunity in this moment."

She smiled as if she didn't care for a moment before her expression shifted as she realized exactly what Itachi said.

"So you used me as a guinea pig!" She accused with a stomp of her foot.

As Izumi glared at Itachi Neji realized she acted far different around the Uchiha than when she was with anyone else. When she was with everyone else she was kind and reserved but when she got around Itachi the usual spark that was Izumi became a bright flame.

Itachi said nothing but the ghost of a smile touching his lips gave way to the fact he was amused and Neji realized the two both seemed different when around each other. Itachi never really looked amused and he wasn't playful in the slightest. There were other ways he could have tested the invisibility justu but he'd used it as he had because Izumi had been present and he'd only gotten Neji for good measure.

"Not funny Itachi."

"I'm not laughing."

"Hmp." Izumi said folding her arms and turning her nose up. Itachi looked at her and immediately noticed something he'd never seen before.

"So you are an Uchiha." He remarked as if he was talking more so to himself than her or Neji.

"What?" Izumi asked bemused.

"When you turned your nose up at me just now that's the first time I saw you really look like an Uchiha."

"Oh..." Izumi said as her face slowly began to mimic a cherry before she looked down and turned away.

Itachi was a bit confused as to why at first but he analysized what he said and applied that to what he knew about how Izumi thought.

While she bared a resemblance to one no one truly thought Izumi looked like an Uchiha. Uchiha woman were regarded mostly for their fierce tempermant and beauty. Other Uchiha would always go out if their way to tell Izumi that she didn't look like an Uchiha as a way to destroy the half blooded girls self confidence. When others outside of the clan did it as well they were unknowingly reinforcing that the idea the other Uchiha planted in Izumi's head that she was ugly or not as beautiful as she should be.

Itachi had just unknowingly made the girl feel beautiful he realized. Taking in the flame on her cheeks and the way her hair fell over the right side of her face as she attempted to keep her eyes away from his he also realized that she was indeed beautiful. Looking at the ladybug hair clip he'd won for her at the festival he understood exactly what it was she shared with a ladybug.

Izumi was a strong and delicate, but she was also beautiful. He looked away from her for a moment finding his thought pattern to be off compared to usual, but his discovery of a different way of seeing his friend was rather interesting.

Izumi saw Itachi turn away from the corner of her eye and she turned back towards him looking with a look of curiousity although he seemed to be too deep in thought to notice it. A smile overtook her features as she wondered if he'd been somehow embarrassed by his comment.

She knew he didn't exactly know what his words sounded like to her when she heard them but she knew he knew her well enough to figure out the reason behind her reaction. She felt somewhat amused considering usually Itachi was the one making her turn away embarrassment.

"What's on your mind Itachi?" She cooed moving her face a bit closer to his and smiling sweetly.

Itachi looked up and noticed her smiling at him in a way he found somewhat suspicious and somewhat adorable at the same time.

"Nothing." Came his short answer.

She stepped closer and smiled brighter.

"Are you sure?"

Itachi felt the back of his neck grow warm at her proximity. Her closeness made him feel a bit odd but it wasn't really uncomfortable so he didn't consider it to be a problem. He knew what she was doing and two could play at that game.

""Are you okay Izumi Chan?"

"Huh? What do you mean Itachi?"

"Your face went all red earlier." He said placing a hand to her forehead. "I was wondering if you were sick."

Izumi's face went red once again and she pulled away muttering that she was fine while doing her best to hold eye contact with the boy she was beginning to suspect she had something of a crush on.

Neji felt somewhat awkward seeing as the two were now obviously unaware of his presence. He coughed lightly to alert them that he was still there not wanting to be rude by just drawing the topic away from their teasing or flirting or whatever it was. He couldn't really say that he knew the difference.

"Sorry about that Neji san. Me and Izumi haven't really spoken much in a while." Itachi apologized while Izumi fidgeted with her fingers half hiding herself behind his shoulder.

"That's understandable. Your group is really popular among the adults so I'm sure the Hokage keeps you busy."

"You aren't about to leave on a mission soon are you?" Izumi asked some of the brightness leaving her eyes as the question left her lips.

"No." Itachi answered allowing his gaze to soften imperceptibly as he did only when in the presence of Izumi or Sasuke. "Shikono sensei wants us to get ready for the Chunin exams."

Neji looked slightly surprised. It was no secret that team twelve held back in their spares with others but the chunin exams were supposed to be brutal. It wasn't uncommon for genin to die while taking them.

"Your sensei doesn't think it's too soon?"

Itachi shook his head no to the Hyuga's question.

"He actually thinks we'll pass the exams with flying colors. I just spoke to him an hour ago and he says all we need to do between now and the next exam is rest."

"When's the next exam?"

"A month from now."

Izumi's eyes light up and she grabbed Itachi by his sleeve drawing his attention back towards her and shooting him what had to be one of her brightest smiles.

"That gives you plenty of time to spend with your best friend in the meantime right Itachi?"

"I suppose...but then again you might only serve to distract me Izumi Chan." Itachi teased keeping the amusement from his face as Izumi frowned at his statement.

"Yeah right Itachi. We both know I can only ever be good for you."

"Is that so?" He replied looking at Izumi curiously.

"Of course! I'm the only person in Konoha who can get you to come outside that shell of yours. If your sensei told you guys to rest and get some down time who better to help you do that than me?"

 _"Shikamaru."_ The heirs mind quickly supplied although he didn't say it aloud.

"Will you help me train as well?" He questioned.

Izumi expression became one of surprise before she began to look unsure.

"Are you sure Itachi? I mean...I don't actually think I'll be a decent sparing partner for you anymore. I know how fast you improve and we both know you're probably leagues ahead of me right now."

He shrugged admitting to himself that what she said was likely true, however self improvement wasn't actually his reason for wanting Izumi to spare with him.

"I'm asking because I want to help you become stronger before you graduate the academy."

Izumi's confusion made way for more surprise that was followed up by more confusion.

"Why would you waste time helping me train when you could be focusing on yourself or getting some rest?"

"Because the world we live in is a dangerous place and our jobs are the hardest out there. Helping you grow stronger will provide me with peace of mind when you're outside the village."

Izumi's eyes widened at the implication he wanted to help her grow stronger because he might worry about her otherwise. It touched her heart and reminded her of how they were before he became a genin and found the majority of his time monopolized by missions.

"You don't think I'll slow you down?"

"That's not something I bothered concerning myself with. The training wouldn't be for me it'd be for you."

"Then I refuse." The half blooded Uchiha girl said throwing Neji for a loop although Itachi had expected her to do as much.

"I don't want to hold you back Itachi. You shouldn't spend your time off worrying about me. I'll be okay." She said gracing him with one of her usual smiles as a show of appreciation.

Itachi had expected her to refuse his offer but he was still puzzled as to how he should respond. If she felt she would really be holding him back or being a burden then she would never accept.

"It would be more of a burden to me if you didn't accept." He said after only a moment of contemplation.

"What do you mean?" Izumi questioned not seeing how.

"When you graduate the academy and find yourself away on missions I'll worry about you if you aren't trained to a certain standard. You're strong Izumi, easily genin level, but the challenges you'll be faced with will really test you. Failure outside the villages walls could mean death or worse."

Itachi paused to see if she had any sort of rebuttal but when she said nothing he continued.

"I need to be sure you're able to handle most challenges you'll be faced with. If I'm always worrying about you while I'm out on missions I'll be not only a danger to myself but to my team as well. If you went off on a mission never to return I would blame myself for leaving you unprepared. You wouldn't want me to blame myself if something bad happened to you would you Izumi chan?"

Izumi was silent as she took a few moments to take his words into consideration and Itachi was perfectly fine with that knowing she was getting her thoughts together.

"How could I ever refuse when you put it like that Itachi?" Izumi smiled know I he'd basically manipulated her into accepting but she wad fine with that. She was honestly touched to know he cared so much.

Itachi mimicked her smile and Neji briefly wondered if he would have to cough to gain their attention again. Slipping away while they were too wrapped up in each others presence would be rude wouldn't it?

"Oh Itachi! Do you think Sasuke could train with us?"

Itachi raised an eyebrow a bit surprised at the question but he nodded his head not seeing why not. He would have to find the best time for his little brother to join them considering he didn't think Anko would take kindly to him steeling him away when she'd just declared he'd be training with her group from now on.

 **Leaf Village Anbu HQ-6** **:33Pm**

"Ryo for your thoughts Ibiki?" Kakashi asked the Torture master.

"Hm?" Ibiki sounded looking towards the anbu captain without taking the foot he was using to keep his chairs front legs off the ground from the man desk.

Kakashi replied without looking up as he was hoping to complete the small stack of forms on his desk quickly.

"You've been leaving and coming back for the past three hours or so, and you've been sitting there twirling that kunai four a while now. Usually if your department wants to milk one of my prisoners for intel you would have brought it up by now. This about the rouge Jo Mae nin we found that the guys say they think is an Iwa spy?"

Ibiki stopped twirling the kunai to regard Kakashi fully.

"My guys do want the chance to make him sing but that's not why I'm here. I was actually going to ask you what's up with those Ame shinobi after you got through all that paperwork. Looks like a real pain in the ass."

"The Torture and Interrogation Department doesn't give you much paperwork?" The captain queried raising an eyebrow.

Ibiki grinned rather smugly and Kakashi knew he wouldn't like the answer.

"We get most of our cadavers from the you guys of course, and a few here and there from the Leaf Police force. By the time we get them the paperworks already filed, and I got a guy who writes down the stuff we get from our marks."

"One guy writes down everything you guys carve and pull out of people's heads there?" Kakashi questioned giving Ibiki's claim no credence.

"Honest to Kami he does. He's a Yamanaka who keeps a mental link with everyone while the interrogations are proceeding, and he's a got damned machine when it comes to keeping track of things. Guy's like a human tape recorder. Whatever he doesn't write down he remembers." The man said rocking himself lightly.

"Foot off the desk Ibiki." Kakashi said looking at him from the corner of his eye.

Ibiki tried to hide a smirk as he put his foot down and went back to twirling a kunai. "Most paperwork I have to file is for inventory and new recruits."

"You're a very lucky man."

"The luckiest. My jobs more cushy than the Hokage's."

"Who trained your guy over at the department?"

"The guy who had the job before him; Inojin Yamanaka."

Kakashi nodded knowing the Inojin he spoke of from stories he'd began to hear five years ago when he'd been dismissed from the TID because of concerns for his mental health.

"What's his pay grade?" Kakashi asked overtly curious.

"Probably above most of the guys in your division. I heap a bundle of the departments funds into his paycheck to make sure the mental strain is worth it. Can't have a guy like that walking out on me easy you know and at least he'll be rich if he ends up messed up in the head."

Kakashi stared at Ibiki for a moment.

"Don't give me that look Kakashi, he's the best guy for the job."

"Is paying a guy that much when you've got a whole department to worry about really a good idea?"

The man shrugged his shoulders as if to say it wasn't really an issue. "My department doesn't need much so we can afford to be generous with our employees."

"If your departments so blessed you can afford to give your employees a bonus and still run as efficiently as you do, never mind the lack of paperwork..I might have to consider changing my line of work."

Ibiki stealthily placed his foot back against the side of the desk where he'd masterfully stacked a house of cards on the edge of not too long ago.

"You were already rich before you became a shinobi. Everybody knows you just do your job because you're the best man for it."

"Maybe, but by law I'm only allowed to be captain for a few more years now. After that I'll have to consider a new career path, and the office of Chief of the TID sounds pretty cushy."

Ibiki had to laughed at the thought of someone who was more qualified stepping up and taking his job. That would be the day when shinobi flew and Orochimaru came back to Konoha to repent for his sins.

"You just keep on dreaming Kakashi. Hell, if you're able to take my job in a few years I'll throw you a party to celebrate."

"My own party thrown by the great torture master of Konoha. Let's call it a deal." Kakashi said earning a grin from Ibiki who extended his hand to shake on it.

"Foot off the desk Ibiki." Kakashi said without even looking in the torture masters direction this time.

The man internally groaned but put his foot back in the floor to Kakashi's satisfaction.

The anbu went back to his paperwork and Ibiki began to contemplate stacking another house of cards. He'd been waiting for the man to finish the small stack of paper work on his desk but apparently conversation didn't slow him down any when it came to filling stuff out. He did have to get back to his department soon so he figured it was now or never.

"So Kakashi...who's that group of Ame shinobi you brought in earlier and why did it look like they came in without a fight?"

"Because they did. Leader of their group is the kunochi with the long dark hair and killer eyes. She's the daughter of Hanzo the Salamander. Some shinobi named Pein killed her father and took over the country. She formed some kind of deal with the Hokage I have no knowledge about..likely seeking refuge of some kind because I doubt he would have agreed to giving her the men to retake her country and village."

"What's in it for the Hokage?" Ibiki asked wondering just what kind of shinobi was strong enough to kill Hanzo. "Why not make friendly with Ame's new dictator if an alliance with Ame was the Hokage's original plan?"

"Apparently the guys some kind of idealist and that might be something the Hokage see's as a threat. If the guy beat Hanzo and took over his country before shutting off all outside communication from the rain village he's not someone to turn a blind eye to. You never know where a man's intentions may lie, but at least with most of the major villages you have an idea."

"So you think it's a precautionary measure on the Hokage's part?" Ibiki said returning his foot to the desk and leaning himself backward.

"Who am I to say? I just know the two made some kind of a deal but without any sort of knowledge pertaining as to what I'd rather not speculate on the reasoning behind it."

"You want me to torture the information out of her and have her mind wiped of the incident so the Hokage never finds out?"

Kakashi's hand stopped on the paper and he looked up wondering if his colleague was being serious.

"That's treason against the Hokage and it can also be considered an attack on a foreign shinobi."

Ibiki grinned at Kakashi's statement. "I won't tell if you won't."

"No." The Anbu said going back to the pardons on his desk. "And foot down Ibiki."

Ibiki sighed and putting his foot down before remarking that Kakashi was no fun to which the masked ninja didn't bother to reply.

"Suit yourself, but I would die to know what kinda deal a kunochi like that made with the Hokage."

"That's actually one of the possible penalties of doing what you're asking." Came Kakashi's response to an unconcerned Ibiki.

"I've died before on the operating table and on the battlefield. Got the scars to prove it if you don't believe me."

Kakashi ignored the man's statement knowing it was likely the truth.

"Hanzo The Salamanders daughter huh? What kind of kunochi is she?" The torture master asked unable to curve his curiousity.

"What kind of kunochi do you think she is?" Kakashi replied hoping to get the man to answer his own question so he could put more focus into getting through his paperwork.

"The kind who lives to kill and see's moral rightness as weakness. A kunochi who at her best dishes out death to her enemies while showing no concern for anyone who might end up as collateral damage. I bet she's also the kind of kunochi who lacks true purpose. All she knows or wants to do is probably kill and dominate."

"She's the kind of kunochi who's perfectly comfortable knowing that she's incapable of living a normal life. When she meets her end it'll be at the edge of an enemies blade. The only option in life for her in life is death. It's where all her paths lead and she can't escape it."

Kakashi looked up from his paperwork more than a little surprised at the depth of Ibiki's observation.

"You know she can hear you right? The walls of that holding cell aren't too thick for shinobi ears." He said motioning towards the low security cell he'd ushered the Ame group into before calling for the required paperwork after deciding he'd watch them personally for now.

Ibiki shrugged in indifference upon looking back and noticing said kunochi was watching them both curiously.

"It's not like it isn't the truth. If anything she'll take what I said as a compliment."

Unbeknownst to the two Yashiu did take all that he said as a compliment and she couldn't help but smirk at his comment that she would. As far as what kind of kunochi he thought her to be she figured he was pretty spot on. Especially when he remarked that all life had to offer someone like herself was death.

Her and death we're the best of bed fellows. Death was her best friend and it would always be like that.

"In the future you might want to be careful when sharing your analysis Ibiki. There's no telling how long her and her friends will be in Konoha. We wouldn't want you to wake up with another scar on your face because you got a bit too expressive in your opinion of our guest."

"If she at least gives me a warning slash across the face before she slits my throat I think that's far game. I wouldn't mind adding a couple more beauty marks to my collection after all."

Ibiki's comment earned a small bit of laughter from some of the shinobi in the cell and even Yashiu had to chuckle a bit at that one.

"Don't say I didn't warn you if that beauty mark just so happens to be her master piece."

"I'm sure she shines much more when she's aiming to kill rather than scar."

Kakashi remembered the fighting style she displayed before revealing her true identity and afterwards, along with the summoning justu he'd never got to see and he couldn't argue. Yashiu was a kunochi who definitely tried to take no prisoners on the battlefield.

He noticed Ibiki's subtle hints of flattery though and he realized something that startled him.

"You wouldn't happen to have taken an interest in the Hokages new guest would you?"

"I wanna see what makes her tick." The torture master replied easily.

"That would be her heart Ibiki." Kakashi answered sagely.

The scars on Ibiki's face stretched a little as his lips pulled upwards in a grin.

"Are you sure a shinobi with an aura like hers even has a heart?"

Kakashi remembered Yashiu's words when the twins were up in the middle of violating the unlucky kunochi who'd survived the battle right before the one that happened to be their last. He recalled her saying no one liked it anymore than he did and if it bothered him so much he should do something about it. Had she been heartless she would've simply told him to get over it so she had to have some form of a heart in there right?

"Well if she does I'm sure finding it would probably be like finding a needle in a haystack."

"I'm no treasure hunter Kakashi. Guy can't be curious about something without developing an interest in it?"

"No." Kakashi answered wondering if the man had thought about the question before he asked it. "Curiousity is interest and vice versa."

Ibiki looked thoughtful for a moment before standing and shrugging his shoulders.

"Well then I guess I'm interested in her then but unfortunately I have a job to get back to. Good luck with that paperwork of yours." He said moving to walk away till Kakashi called him to a stop.

"Yeah?" He questioned turning back around slightly.

Kakashi had his hands folded in front of his face while he rested his elbows on his desk. Ibiki turned fully knowing the look of a man who was ready to conduct some business.

"That Joe Mae shinobi the guys think is a spy might just be one but my department only conducts interrogations out in the field. The guy refuses to tell us why he's in Konoha's territory and since we brought him to Konoha loosening his lips falls under your departments jurisdiction."

"So you need me to make him talk?" Ibiki questioned.

"I need you to make him sing." Kakashi corrected pulling out the small file they had on the man.

"I doubt a shinobi who lives three countries away decided to just take a stroll through the land of fire. I know you guys have other...cadavers you need to see to, but I want this guy bumped up to the top of your list, and I want you to see to him personally."

"Have him dropped off soon then and you'll know everything you want to know about the guy by tomorrow." Ibiki said taking the file from Kakashi's hand and turning to take his leave.

Kakashi nodded his head towards Ibiki's back and went back to doing his paperwork, wondering when Ibiki had started reffering to those who were brought to his department as corpse's.

 **Konoha forest-6:36Pm**

The silver haired Monogahi kunochi sat in her favorite spot atop the cliff right next to the waterfall waiting for the Hozuki siblings to recover. She had her eyes closed as she enjoyed the cool spray of mist that came from the water crashing against the rocks doting this part of the river. Even better than the mist was this rare moment of silence that came from the three former Kiri nin being too exhausted to argue with one another at the moment.

The three were currently laying on the rocky banks down below with their lower halfs inside the river and their upper halfs laying against the wet ground beside it. She'd seen them do this often after training and she found it odd they always did so considering it didn't help them heal faster. Perhaps the three were just really fond of water? She thought her assumption couldn't be that far off considering they were always likening themselves to fish for whatever reason.

"Move your arm Suigestu!"

Amaris sighed and opened her eyes thinking it was good while it lasted. Togastu was glaring at his brother who's arm was inside the area where he'd choosen to collapse and designate as his own personal space.

"My arms been right there for the past thirty minutes baka. How about you move your leg before I cut it off and feed it to you?"

Amaris smirked as she took notice of the fact Togastu's leg was nowhere near his brothers personal space. Suigestu just liked ticking him off for some reason. It was times like that when she was both a little glad and a little sad to be an only child.

"My leg is nowhere near you."

Suigestu was trying his best to keep the smirk from his face but Amaris wasn't fooled in the slightest.

"I'm not gonna warn you again." He said sitting up and looking at his younger brother threateningly. "Move the leg or lose it Nemo."

Togastu sneered and sat up as well returning the look, only his was entirely serious.

"I'm much more of a Bruce, 'Dorthy'. And I'd like to see you try it big mouth. You'll be losing a lot more than a few memories."

"A Bruce, you? Please...the only Bruce here is me. I have a big mouth because I devour little guppies like you."

Togastu pulled himself up fully from the ground and sneered down towards his smirking brother.

"Don't think you'll be big fish forever. One day I'll take a big chunk out of that ego of yours and we'll see who the real Bruce is."

The older Hozuki stopped bothering trying to hide his smirk and went back to laying down against the stoney bank next to the river, placing his hands behind his head obviously not taking his little brother seriously.

"No time like the present right? If you're gonna make a move you might as well do it now while my guards down. You wouldn't stand a chance otherwise."

Togastu looked at Suigestu for a moment after that statement before he grinned and kicked his blade up from the ground into his hand. Smirking he moved towards the unconcerned looking Suigestu intending to chop off maybe a limb or two while his guard was down just like he suggested, till a small but sharp crescent of water took him by surprise, severing his legs from his feet at the ankles and causing him to fall on his face.

As his feet began reattaching themselves to his legs his head shot up and he glared heated daggers at his sister while doing his best to ignore the bitting laughter coming from his older brother.

"What the hell was that for Kokiri!?"

The kunochi looked at him with a dry expression that held a fair bit of irritation as well.

"I don't see why you keep letting him stroke his ego by kicking your ass everyday. Just face it Togastu, Suigestu will always be the big fish between you two."

"Like hell he will!" The Hozuki huffed picking himself up off the ground again. "And I don't get my ass kicked by the way, I just lose!"

"You lose terribly." She replied turning her head away from him and looking at the sky above the forrest.

"No I don't." Togastu said focusing on calming himself and folding his arms.

Kokiri scoffed and turned towards her brother with a raised eyebrow and a questioning look.

"What about the time he took your sword and chopped you up with it until you ran out of chakra?"

"He got lucky!" He practically shouted feeling himself grow upset again at the embarrassing memory she just brought up.

"What about the time you guys fought without your swords and he beat you up with a rock?"

"We were supposed to be fighting without weapons but he still had to use one!"

Suigestu cleared his throat and the two turned towards him as he was picking himself up off the ground to stand as well.

"I didn't have to use it you know. I just thought it'd be fun to beat your face in with a rock."

"You cheated either way!" The younger brother growled poking an accusatory finger into his brother chest.

Suigestu just readopted another smirk and took a sip of his water before turning away. All was silent for a few seconds until Kokiri spoke up again bringing up another situation in which Suigestu humiliated his brother. Togastu didn't reply and Kokiri decided to just continue irritating him with more embarrassing memories.

"What abou-"

"Shut up will you?! Suigestu just gets lucky and he's a cheater!"

Kokiri scoffed at his excuse and Suigestu turned back around to dispute his claim but before he could say anything he ended up chuckling into his arm as he caught sight of his brothers face. Hozuki who where born with the same bloodline as they were could usually use their affinity for water to keep blood from running to their face in most situations.

They didn't blush in embarrassment, indignation, or for any other reason someone else's face might redden. Togastu must have been pretty riled up if he wasn't regulating the blood flow to his face.

"I think he's ready to explode." The oldest remarked smirking at his brother who only glared back.

"Some people just can't handle the truth." Kokiri remarked still laying against the rocky bank next to the river and looking at the sky.

Togastu continued to glare at the two trying his best not to feed into their heckling.

"He's so upset he can't even find the words he wants to say!" Suigestu jeered purposely trying to antagonize his brother further. "Better watch your back little sis or he might just attack you while your guards down."

The kunochi scoffed and finally sat up to look at Togastu with eyes that dared him to try.

"I'll kick his ass. He should know better than to challenge me."

"FIGHT ME!" Togastu demanded of the both of them having had enough of their jeeres.

Suigestu's smirk grew even wider and he casually placed his hands behind his head in a carefree manner.

"No thanks. I'm still recovering from our spare with Amaris. Plus you'd be a waste of chakra anyway."

Togastu prepared to fire back a reply meant to goad his brother into a fight but his sister cut him off.

"Stop acting like you're so strong Suigestu. You're a guppie too. Just a bigger one than him."

Both brothers turned towards the kunochi who casually called them little fish and Kokiri pulled herself to her feet looking uninterested in continuing the conversation.

"I'll kick your ass just like I do his." Suigestu said lifting his sword off the ground and pointing it towards her threateningly.

"Both of you, FIGHT ME!" Togastu demanded again tired of the two acting like he was at the bottom of the food chain.

"I don't waste my time with guppies." Suigestu commented still holding his weapon towards his sister.

"Put that thing away before someone gets hurt." Kokiri warned pulling her daggers from her sleeves.

"Stop ignoring me!" Togastu shouted lifting his blade and moving to attack both his siblings.

Suigestu smirked seeing his brother lunging towards him to attack and he decided to ignore him in favour of attacking Kokiri and dealing with him later. Kokiri knew Suigestu would be gunning for her primarily so she shifted her primary focus towards Togastu intending to take him out first so there were no distractions.

The boom of thunder rang out across the training field and they all looked up to see a frowning Amaris who still hadn't moved from her favorite spot right next to the waterfall.

"You three really need some kind of outlet for all that competitive energy you possess. I know a couple of budding swordsman and a few junior shinobi who could use some good opponents to test them."

Suigestu made a sound of distaste, crossing his arms and letting it be known how he felt. Togastu looked as if her suggestion actually offended him, and Kokiri wore her usual expression of detachment but there was a question behind her gaze.

"You think a few shinobi hopefuls will be enough to provide us with a challenge?"

Amaris smirked knowing they'd likely give them a challenge and then some.

"There are a few genin there too."

Suigestu face palmed and sent a pointed frown in the woman's direction.

"You know we're Chunin right? You're crazy if you think we'd be able to actually spare against a few genin and shinobi hopefuls without killing someone by mistake."

"You must really think we're weak or something." Togastu said with an opinion that mirrored his brothers.

Amaris shook her head and looked at them reproachfully.

"If I thought you guys were weak I would send you somewhere else to train."

Suigestu grinned slightly taking that as a compliment.

"Either way we aren't wasting our time by training with a bunch of brats."

Amaris raised an eyebrow and grinned towards the siblings smugly.

"I don't recall voicing it as a request."

 **Monogahi compound-6:47Pm**

To Naruto's surprise Nubutaka didn't seem to be surprised when he and Hatsue showed up to the training field with an unconscious Sasuke and Shikamaru in tow. He just smile a bit towards Hatsue with a knowing look before approaching Naruto and walking towards the compound with a gesture that indicated he was to follow.

Knowing Nubutaka was a cryptic kind of person at times Naruto just followed without asking questions. If the Monogahi gave no explanations as to his actions asking likely wouldn't get him to reveal anything. As the two walked in silence he remembered Hatsue had said it was about somebody they thought he would like to meet. Who that person was he had no idea but he almost one of who it could be.

"You guys aren't getting me a dog are you?"

Nubutaka began chuckling a bit and shook his head no. Naruto was somewhat disappointed but he didn't say anything else as they continued through the halls of the compound. Nubutaka noticed the blonde actually seemed calm. He expected complaints at not being told who he was going to meet but apparently the twins weren't lying when they said they'd helped him with his patience.

"How long are these halls anyway? Feels like we've been walking forever."

 _"Seems like I spoke too soon."_

"Not much longer. The Library is just closer to the front of the compound."

"You could just tell me if you're getting me a dog. I'll act like I'm surprised." The blonde grinned.

"It's not a dog Naruto." Nubutaka replied almost laughing as his grin fell and he adopted a look of pure displeasure.

"Why can't it ever be anything cool with you guys? You're not taking me to the library to give me a book and introduce me to your librarian are you?"

"Actually that's exactly what I'm doing. A book can be your best friend sometimes too."

"A book isn't a ninja hound." He grumbled resisting the urge to drag his feet.

Nubutaka resisted the urge to laugh but figured he could strike a deal with the blonde if it meant that much to him.

"If you can reach chapter 5 of the book in at least eight months I'll get you a ninja canine."

"No way!" He said rounding on Nubutaka and stopping the man in his tracks. "I just gotta read to chapter five of a stupid book? I can do that easily in five months!"

"Oh it'll be much harder than you're thinking."

"And I bet I'll do it much easier than you're thinking!" The Uzumaki exclaimed with unwavering confidence.

"If you say so." He said grinning and stepping past Naruto.

As they walked down the hall the blonde wondered what kind of canine he would receive once he aced the man's stupid challenge. He hadn't said dog after all, he said canine which left open a number of possibilities.

"Welcome to the library Naruto." Nubutaka said opening a door for the blonde who'd been too deep in thought to notice their arrival.

"Woah.." He said stepping inside and marveling at the size of the room and all the books it held. "This place is bigger than my old apartment and it has more books than that dump had rouches."

Nubutaka didn't know if he should laugh at that statement or just feel terrible for his little buddy so he opted to do neither.

"You're welcome to study here anytime you like as long as you aren't too loud. The people I wanted to introduce you to are likely in the back room right now. You can browse around while I go find them."

Naruto nodded his head and began to look around finding the large collection very impressive but he was unaware of where he should look for something interesting. He could see a number of titles, books pertaining to everything from shinobi world history to good house keeping. He'd taken a small interest in history sometime after Hatsue and Jiriya began giving him history lessons and there were so many volumes pertaining to event's in history he'd never heard of on the shelves.

Just as he'd been about to select a book of some famous shinobi warlord in the waring states era he caught sight of something that made him actually drool on himself a bit. Sitting on a polished slab of marble not far from where he stood and facing him directly was a very old looking book slapped with the title 'The Elemental nations: All known justu and their history.'

As if pulled on by some kind of invisible force he began gravitating towards the book, stopping just in front of it and reaching a hand out towards it. As his hand reached the edge of the slab a fresh jolt of pain ran through his hand, not enough to hurt but enough to shock him enough to pull his hand back. Holding his hand against his chest he frowned at the slab before doubling up on his previous effort and reaching for the book as fast as he could. The pain was explosive this time, starting in his hand and clawing it's way through his body in what was only a few seconds but felt like an entire minute of hell for Naruto.

He stood up after a moment and glared daggers at the slab. A circle of black ink appeared around the book seeming to move around for a moment before settling on a position and disappearing again. Naruto's eyes widened as he realized he wasn't dealing with some kind of freaky evil shinobi book of shadows or something. The slab was just graced with some kind of sealing script meant to keep people away from the book.

Reaching into his shinobi weapons pouch he pulled out a kunai and attached it to some ninja wire grinning smugly as he assured himself the seals had no way of recognizing an in animate object. Unfortunately for him he didn't know how seals worked and the moment the kunai got over the slab it became suspended in mid air and no matter how hard he pulled it didn't seem to budge.

Naruto sweat dropped as he realized if he couldn't remove the kunai the others would know he'd been attempting to sneak a peek or two...or maybe three hundred from the eyes of shadow clones. He began pondering hard on how he was going to remove the kunai when the script appeared again and glowed slightly before the kunai's position shifted and it was thrown outside the circle of the slab burying itself into the wood of a bookshelf not far away.

Naruto looked to the kunai more than a little startled considering a few inches closer and it might have been his head it burried itself into. He turned back towards the slab just in time to see the seals rearrange themselves again before glowing with a feint light and disappearing.

 _"That's so cool."_ He thought almost forgetting that the seal had nearly killed him with his own kunai.

 **0o0o0o0o0o**

Nubutaka was walking back towards the front of the library where he'd left Naruto. The clans librarian and seal master both seemed to have anticipated this happening and they agreed whole heartily with the clan heads suggestion.

Two out of the three of them were surprised to see the area at the front of the library filled with at least twenty clones of the blonde. A number of them were sitting on the floor with books open in their laps. Some of them were standing up in front of the shelves and browsing through them, and a few were even sitting and reading on the low book shelves. One clone was sitting at one of the libraries many desk actually taking notes on something.

Unlike all the other clones who were all silently combing over the reading material they picked out there were three Naruto's at the Libraries center standing in front of a book on a slab they all knew well. The three were talking amongst one another and theorizing about different ways of reaching the book.

There were kunai's hanging in the air around the slab and the librarian found herself smiling at the blonde boys enthusiasm for learning even when it meant breaking the rules. She approached them silently and stood behind them perfectly content to listen to them brain storm and throw their ideas at one another. Nubutaka and Hashio stood there in shocked bewilderment at the scene before them. Sayako usually didn't let people touch the seal intentionally and get away with it.

The seal appeared again and flashed as they'd come to expect. The kunai hovering over the marble slab were sent flying back in the direction they'd come from. Three kunai connected with the three aforementioned kunai and knocked them to the ground. Nubutaka and Hashio looked up seeing four Naruto standing on the tall book cases and observing them.

One of the Naruto gave them both a sheepish smile while the others observed the others closely while they tampered with the seal. Hashio quickly realized the three Naruto in front of the seal were just a practice group. They served as the primary information gatherers and possibly even test subjects while the Naruto at a distance observed those three and came up with different ways they could use the information the others gained from their test while simultaneously running damage control.

Given the sheepish look of the forth Naruto they knew they were in trouble but given the no nonesense stances of the other three as they observed the practice group they saw no reason to stop just yet seeing as no one had told them to.

"Did you train him this well?" Hashio asked a surprised looking Nubutaka.

"That's actually all the doing of his sisters. They're over achievers and their starting to rub off on him quicker than I thought they would."

"I thought he was an orphan?"

"He is but he still has people who care."

"That makes sense. Mind me asking who his sisters are?"

"Our own little bone princess and crystal angel."

"Inoha and Imari? Those two trained this kid to act like a tactical shinobi?" He asked knowing the two were strong but still a bit skeptical.

"Those girls are well on their way to becoming some of the most competent shinobi in Konoha. Don't let their upbeat personalities and positive demeanors fool you."

The Naruto's from the practice group continued to brainstorm and one pulled out another kunai needing to constantly see the seals in action before they could begin to understand more about how they worked. The kunai was stopped as soon as it entered the circle same as the others and one of the many circles of sealing script began to turn. The Naruto's recognized this one to be some kind of gravity seal that worked in tandem with the others and they were sure to pay close attention to every detail while waiting for the circle to find it's position and expell the kunai.

What happened next surprised them though as a lady they'd never seen before walked past them and stuck her hand inside the slab easily removing the kunai without a hint of even an ounce of pain flashing across her face.

"The only way to get past this seal is having enough power to outright destroy it which would result in the book being destroyed as well, or having a counter seal specifically designed for this one." The woman said pulling her sleeve back and showing him the kind of seal of which she talked.

"Hello dear. My name is Sayako Uzumaki, and it's a pleasure to meet you. I've been waiting for our paths to cross for some time now."

All twenty of the blonde heads in the room turned towards the woman who just introduced herself with the last name they thought no one save themselves still possessed.

"Sayako..Uzumaki?" The real Naruto repeated not quit sure he'd heard her right.

"Yes dear. Although we may not be directly related we hail from the same clan so you could say we are related in a sense. Do you like seals Naruto?" The woman asked with a gleam in her eyes some would say they'd only ever seen from Naruto when discussing new justu or Ramen.

He nodded his head fervently unable to find words at the moment. He'd thought the Uzumaki were extinct and here was this woman saying she wasn't of the exact same heritage but bore the same ancestry as he.

"Good because I planned on teaching you anyway. Now there is a book I've been saving just for you and I think that's as good a place as any to start. Your shadow clones can continue what they were doing but I'll ask that they no longer tamper with the seal I put in place without permission. It's much stronger than it appears and it gets annoying feeling a prick in my spine everytime someone tampers with it."

Again Naruto nodded his head having a thousand questions that all wanted to be answered first. It was like they were getting stuck in the doorway of his brain before they made it to his mouth.

"Good." She smiled holding out a book he just noticed she'd been carrying. "That book consist of ten chapters. Each chapter pertains to a different level of sealing starting at one and ending at ten of course. I'll be your teacher and that book will be your tutor. Your reference material for anything you could ever need to look into and your teacher when I'm not around."

He nodded his head again still incapable of finding his words and she chuckled at his expression before gesturing at a table indicating he should sit. Once he did so and they were both seated all the clones in the room who'd stopped to watch the two went back to their work figuring it was none of their business. The seven who'd been working on the seal moved to find something to read and Hashio moved to help them find something to their liking.

Naruto opened his book up to page one and saw a detailed explanation of basic seals, turning to the next page and finding a detailed history on their creation and uses in the past. Just as he was about to turn towards the next page the librarians voice cut him off.

"Wouldn't you like to know about the Uzumaki dear. Our rise and fall, our morals and ethics. What made us what we were and makes us what we are today?"

"Yes please!" The blonde exclaimed glad she'd asked instead of making him do it. He didn't know why but he felt like he might have offended her for some reason. She was likely a full blooded Uzumaki who probably also happened to be a seal master overseeing one of the biggest libraries he'd ever seen.

He didn't feel particularly worthy of being called an Uzumaki next to this woman. She was the real deal and he was just someone who carried the name without knowing what it truly meant.

"I-I would like that very much." He followed up in a more formal manner not wanting to miss his chance. _"I think that's how Tsunade Ba chan would want me to say it."_ He thought nervously.

To his relief the woman smiled at him and launched into the fable of the Uzumaki clan. It was a story of struggle, gain, hardship, perseverance, and lastly the deception that resulted in the clans demise.

She told him of the Uzumaki's exploits, their way of living, their morals and beliefs. Among the man things he learned he held onto the fact that those who bore the name of Uzumaki were supposed to be honorable people who placed a heavy value on life and loved one's. The Uzumaki only amassed strength as a way to protect the things they cared about. For that reason they choose an island they can make almost impossible to reach their home.

Naruto empathized with this greatly as losing a loved one was something it hurt him greatly to think about. Plus there was no point in being strong if his strength was only for showing off. Eventually that would get boring and everyone would have already started to think he was a jerk.

All the clones around the library no longer held any attention on the books they were reading besides the one who still had a book open next to him he looked back and forth between that and the sheet of paper he'd been writing on since sitting at that table.

For what had to have been an hour or possibly even longer Naruto and the 20 something clones around him listened intently to the history of the clan he would never know. Nubutaka had long since slipped out of the library after seeing the blonde was in good hands and Hashio was sitting atop one of the high bookshelves with some of the blondes clones content to just listen alongside them.

 **Hokage's office-7:32Pm**

Tsunade lifted a coffee cup to her lips as she inspected the papers in her hand with furrowed brows and an expression of distaste. Konoha's primary shinobi hospital had fallen far below what she considered to be the usual standard.

She attributed much of the hospitals decline to the fact that after the nine tails incident the Uchiha built a hospital that catterered to not only shinobi but the civilians of Konoha as well. The fact that the hospital wasn't exclusive to shinobi made it far more popular than it's predecessors which were all either exclusive to shinobi or exclusive to civilians.

Shinobi with civilian families preferred sharing a hospital with their family members, and course all the competition medical practitioners and med nin transferred over to the more popular facility. Tsunade had to give it to Fugaku. She didn't know who was running the Uchiha hospital but whoever was happened to be doing a good job of it.

Her CIO (Chief Information Officer) was supposed to take inventory and give her a projection of how much antiseptic the hospital would need to place on order for next month. She was entirely unaware of how the man came up with his numbers. He seemed to be unaware of just how much antibacterial dye the hospital went through in a week and her COO (Chief Operations Officer) seemed confused as to how to balance the schedule for the hospitals none medical staff.

Her CMO (Chief Medical officer) and her CFO (Chief Financial Advisor) were really the only competent people on the executive staff. Her CNO (Chief Nursing Officer) was good but the girls head always seemed to be removed from her work and of course that was something she frowned upon. No time for day dreaming when lives were at stake.

All this damn paperwork...it was driving her crazy! She needed a drink but she made the old man promise not to let her leave the make shift desk she moved inside his office until she was done.

She snuck a peak at her sensei and wondered if she should just make a break for it. More likely than not he would catch her and reprimand her for running before she was finished. The thought reminded her of when she was younger and Hiruzen would punish her and her teammates whenever they failed to learn a lesson of some kind.

Usually Jiriya would attempt to sneak off in the situations when he thought he wouldn't be caught but the old man would always catch him in no time at all. Eventually Tsunade had taken to attempting to sneak off when he was after Jiriya, but of course the old man would catch her too. The smile that grew at the warmth of old memories only lasted for a second as she remembered her predicament.

 _"No Jiriya to provide me with a distraction for escape now."_ She mentally deadpanned dropping her head on the desk in disdain for the position she now held as the shinobi hospitals CEO. _"Kami just kill me already!"_

"Sensei." Came the call of the voice of one of the people she'd just been thinking about. Looking up and saw Jiriya stepping into office through the window. _"Speak of the devil! Perfect timing Jiriya_!"

She quickly rose from her seat startling the two at the abruptness of her motion and slapping the papers she'd currently been reviewing against the toad sages chest. The man reached up grasping onto the pages in surprise wondering what they were for when she walked past him towards the door to the office.

Not stopping in her movement but calling over her shoulder realization of what was going on reached him along with her voice.

"I need you to look those over for me and give me a summary when I come back. Don't sign anything you're unsure of but my stamp is on the desk."

"W-Wait what!? No way Hime! You're not about to just saddle me with all your backed up paperwork!"

Tsunade paused in front of the now open door to the office and shot the man a smile that was too sweet to belong on her face.

"Oh but I am. You better not leave this room until I come back." She said turning and leaving but not before Hiruzen and Jiriya saw her overly sweet expression grow into one of amusement.

The door closed behind the Sannin and all was quiet inside the office. Jiriya didn't know if he should be glad he got to see Tsunade smile so brightly even if it was fake, or if he should be outraged she left him to comb through her paperwork. A stream of laughter cut through the silence and Jiriya shot the Hokage a dirty look unappreciative of the humor he took from his pain.

Picking up a few loose papers that'd fallen to the floor, along with what was left of his dignity, Jiriya moved towards Tsunade's desk and began shuffling through the papers she'd given him unsure of where he should start. He felt the eyes of his sensei on him and he lifted his head raising an eyebrow and giving him a questioning look.

"It's nothing." Hiruzen answered highly amused at the situation.

Jiriya sighed and turned back towards the task at hand figuring it he was being forced into lightening Tsunade's work load he might as well do a decent job of it.

 _"That woman already has you wrapped around her finger and you two aren't even sleeping together. I shudder to think of the power she'd have over you should you two start seeing each other."_ Then again it was only a matter of time before that happened Hiruzen remarked to himself.

"Why did Tsunade have a desk moved here?" The Sage asked looking to his sensei who surely had the answer.

"Apparently the people at the hospital irritate her and she can hardly get any work done in that environment."

"Hmm.. Probably needed an excuse to force herself to do the work she doesn't want to do and you're the only way."

"A sound assumption. That's exactly what I assumed when she made the request."

Jiriya sighed and rubbed the back of his head before diving head first into the work in front of him. For the next thirty minutes or so the two sat in silence as they both delt with a stack of paperwork they'd rather not deal with at all. In that time Jiriya separated five documents he would've signed off on for Tsunade to look through later.

Just because she trusted him enough to make certain decisions pertaining to the hospital didn't mean he held that same trust in himself. He was actually surprised and more than a bit touched about it.

"Sensei, can you loan me a few blank sheet of paper so I can draw up a chart of the hospitals annual expenses?"

Hiruzen wordlessly went into his desk and removed a few sheets of paper he held out towards his student who nodded his gratitude before taking them and returning to his seat. Paperwork wasn't really his thing but if Jiriya had a head for anything it was business. Running a spy network was anything but easy and he'd been rich long before publishing his best seller.

 **Monogahi training field-7:39Pm**

Sasuke was still a bit groggy even though he'd regained consciousness a while ago. His neck was a bit stiff and he was more than a little pissed at the way he'd been taken down so easily, but considering it was a respected kunochi from his clan who'd done the job he couldn't be too upset. Much to his annoyance though Shikamaru didn't seem to be bothered in the slightest. In fact after waking up and being informed of what'd happened he decided to thank the kunochi for the nap before going back inside the compound to sleep on the mat the servants had laid him on while he was unconscious.

It bothered him knowing just how good Shikamaru was rumored to be knowing how lazy he was. Maybe if the Nara actually dedicated himself to training he would be even stronger than Naruto? That wasn't a comforting thought for Sasuke.

He was currently leaning against a tree watching Shisui and Hamura spare with each other, or at least trying to watch. The two kept blurring in and out of his vision it was really annoying trying to keep up with their movements. Nubutaka said his eyes would adjust eventually but the two also happened to be using an invisibility justu every chance they got to try and gain an edge.

If watching two blurs of movement fight was annoying, watching two invisible shinobi who moved so fast they blurred was aggravating to say the least. He was waiting for someone to spare against but to his surprise no one besides Shisui and Hamura were present. The Shimura twins were nowhere insight and niether was Hinata or their older sister. Izumi Neji and his brother weren't around either which he found weird considering the rest if his brothers team besides their sensei was here and the academy day had let out.

He didn't doubt wherever Izumi was Itachi was likely there too and surprisingly the thought didn't bother him as much as it would usually. He just wondered where Neji was considering the sun was setting and the Hyuga still hadn't shown his face yet. It was unlike him to miss out on an opportunity to spare with the others, especially Inoha who he still had a strong rivalry going with.

Wrapped up in his thoughts he didn't notice the shadow creeping up behind him until it was too late. A hand placed itself over his mouth so he couldn't scream and something that felt like snakes wrapped around his arms. He felt a sharp pain in his neck and the next thing he knew he couldn't move his body. He panicked only to grow more fearfully as a pair of mischievous hazel eyes came into view.

"Sorry to just kidnap you like this but I figured it's easier this way." Anko remarked turning towards Nubutaka and Hatsue who'd stopped watching Shisui and Hamura's battle to look at her curiously.

"If Itachi ask I'm borrowing him. I already discussed it with Fugaku." She said throwing a smoke bomb immediately after she finished speaking. Nubutaka and Hatsue looked at the spot where she and Sasuke had been previously a bit flabbergasted till Hatsue started laughing.

Nubutaka grinned and shook his head remarking to himself that Danzo was grooming quit the eccentric daughter to take over for him one day.

"Wait..did she just say she discussed this with Fugaku?"

 **Earlier that day but not much earlier**

Fugaku looked up from the paper work in front of him towards the door to his office. He felt a familiar presence outside, one reminiscent of Danzo's presence, not as cold but just as shifty.

He interlocking his fingers with one another and holding hid his hands out in front of his face he leaned forward slightly thinking this out to be interesting if anything. Sure enough in walked the last person in the world he would have expected to pay him a visit, yet the very same person whom he'd been expecting since identifying the presence outside of his office.

"You can't go in there without permissio-!"

"Leave us." Fugaku ordered seeing the man as incompetent for letting the girl slip past him in the first place.

Looking a little flabbergasted the other Uchiha quickly bowed mouthing a quick 'Hai.' before taking his leave.

"Uchiha...sama" The girl greeted in a manner similar to how her father would only it wasn't cold like Danzo's greetings. It was rather frolicsome almost as if she was looking forward to their conversation.

Fugaku raised an eyebrow at her manner of greeting. He was honestly surprised she'd added the Sama honorific but he didn't allow it to show as he kept his gaze entirely neutral if not a bit cold.

"Shimura." He returned waiting for her to state why she was here.

"I'll just cut to the chase since you're a very busy man. Not only is Sasuke antisocial but he's also falling behind most of the other shinobi hopefuls in our little training group if you would call it that."

Fugaku's eyes narrowed just slightly. He didn't feel the need to be informed of anything pertaining to his son by a Shimura. He was already aware of Sasuke's position amongst the other hopefuls who trained at Nubutaka's compound but he failed to understand why a Shimura would be bringing it up.

"Your point?" He said allowing his gaze to go from cold to steely.

Anko's grin didn't waver, in fact it only grew which and he'd be lying if he said that it didn't irritate him a bit.

"Sasuke will be joining me, my sister's, and Naruto at the Shimura compound for regular spares from now on whenever he has the time. I know you and my father aren't on the best of terms so I thought I'd clear it with you first."

 _"Ah, so that's what this is about."_ Fugaku thought taking a moment to think it over. From what he knew of her Anko was a very talented kunochi who would be inheriting a lot of power from her father one day.

Her sisters were just as talented as she was and so was Minato's boy. None of them showed any signs of irreparable psychological damage and his youngest son could benefit greatly from being around them.

If this was all a ploy by Danzo to weaken his clan somehow than he would gain next to nothing from targeting Sasuke, he would go after Itachi. Then again the easiest way to get to Itachi was likely through Sasuke but Fugaku doubted Danzo would waste time with such indirect methods considering he currently had no reason to go after him or his clan.

After taking her words into consideration Fugaku replied in a low voice he was sure only she could hear.

"I suppose that's alright with me as long as your sensei stays away from him I don't see a problem with you taking him under your wing." Anko would never know but Fugaku had to shove aside a far bit of his pride to say that.

"I don't control my sensei but I can tell you he never takes an interest in anything that doesn't involve his experiments." Anko replied in a voice that was just as low.

"Well then as long as you don't cause him any permanent injury you're fine."

"Well cuts and bruises will come natural with the territory but can I break his bones as well? The one's that will heal of course."

Fugaku took a moment to consider her question. Of course the harder the training was the more his son would benefit but broken bones were different from scraps and bruises.

"As long as your sensei stays away and your father makes no attempts at brainwashing my son then I have nothing to say about how you train Sasuke. However you should know that if you do break any of his bones his mother will be likely to pay you a visit."

"Noted." Anko replied happily bowing to show her gratitude. "I thank you for your time Uchiha sama."

Fugaku didn't reply, he just followed her with his eyes and exhaled deeply when she was gone. First she'd only added the honorific out of habit but before she left she seemed to have added it out of respect. He didn't know if it was truly meant in a respectful way or a sarcastic way considering her facial expression hadn't changed from that mischievous grin of hers the entire time she'd been in his office.

She shifted from sarcasm and indifference in the beginning, to respect and gratitude at the end. She played it off so smoothly he didn't know if she was truly being genuine or if she was being sarcastic, and he had a feeling she knew he didn't know as well. At least Danzo was always straightforward, his oldest daughter was shifty and unpredictable.

 _"Just like a snake."_ He couldn't help but remark to himself before putting the encounter out of his mind and going back to his paperwork for the day.

 **It's really a pleasure to write certain characters interactions. I just love writing Izumi and Itachi's interactions. Writing everyone else is fun but those two are a treat. I was wondering if I should change any pairings but for the most part I'm content with the one's I thought of, if you guys have any suggestions let me know. Here's a list of all the pairings I have planned at the moment. Most of them are concrete but some of them I'm open to suggestions about.**

 **Naruto/Hinata, Sasuke/Sakura, Shikamaru/Temari, Ino/Sai (Unless I find a better pairing but I doubt it), Kiba* (I have someone planned for Kiba and no they aren't an OC, but I'd rather not ruin the surprise) Konohamaru/Hinabi (Bet you weren't expecting that) Suigestu/Karin, Choji and that chick from Kumo he ended up marrying in Boruto. Shisui/Imari, Hamura/Anko, Itachi/Izumi, Tenten/Rock Lee, Neji/Inoha, Tsunade/Jiriya (Which will begin soon) Kakashi/Amaris, Yashiu/Ibiki, Yukushia/Gai (Did you forget about those two) Jusino/Lily (Did you forget about those two as well lol) Jugo/an OC you guys have seen but haven't meant yet.**

 **I still need pairings for Gara, Kankuro, and Shino. Maybe I'll pair Kokiri with one of the sand siblings. I think she'd be an alright fit for either since I haven't really developed her character yet, but I'm not sure. Let me know if you have any suggestions.**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!**

 **@Gothgirl2186:** Glad I could deliver :D I hope you'll continue to enjoy the story.

 **Dialogue**

 **Kasuf:** You don't dislike Sasuke do you?

 **Shy:** I'm not putting Sasuke down purposely or anything, he just has nothing that allows him to keep up with the others at the moment. His motivations aren't enough at the moment but he's going to catch up with Naruto soon enough.

 **Kabir:** So if Lily is training under Tsunade what about Sakura?

 **Shy:** Sakura will still be Tsunades star student. I'm actually going to have Ino study under Tsunade as well. Her rivalry with Sakura fell off ways earlier in the series than it should have.

 **Kasuf:** So Naruto will be getting a ninja canine when he reaches chapter five or whatever in eight months. You're not going to do something cliche like give him a pet fox for a ninja canine are you?

 **Shy:** Sometimes I really hate you Kasuf.

 **Kasuf:** I'm flattered :-

 **Kabir:** So the Hozuki siblings are about to meet our main cast?

 **Shy:** Yup. But Suigestu and Sasuke won't develop a relationship similar to the one they had in the series just yet. Sasuke will have to be strong enough to impress him first.

 **Kasuf:** Hey I just thought of something. You're coming up with all these character pairing but neglecting the one guy who could really use some love.

 **Shy:** Who?

 **Kasuf:** The man of eternal grey himself, the bandaged heart throb of the hidden leaf, Danzo Shimura.

 **Shy:** Have I told you I hate you sometimes?

 **Kasuf:** Don't act like Danzo isn't the dreamist character in all of anime.

 **Shy:** Oh my gosh Kasuf, just shut up! XD


	27. Chapter 16 Part 4

**Sorry it took so long but I've been kinda busy lately and didn't have much time to sit down and get in the mood to write. Usually whenever I'm sitting down lately it's to go to sleep, but alas! The show must go on!** **I hope there aren't many errors in this chapter, and thanks for reading**.

 **Ohayo gozaimasu**

 **20K Words**

 **The Shimura Compound-4:15am**

"Narutooo." A familiar voice hummed to the blonde causing him to stire slightly in his sleep before rolling over and mumbling something about a few more minutes.

The figure above him did it's best to hold back the excitement she was feeling before pulling the seal back on a steaming cup of freshly cooked instant ramen. The blonde was up within the next moment looking a bit surprised when he saw the person who'd come to wake him.

"Imari?"

"Naruto." She replied looking about as chipper as he could ever recall seeing her so early in the day.

"Inoha didn't wake me up today?" He questioned feeling a bit confused considering Imari was usually just as reluctant as he was to show signs of life in the morning.

Noticing that the Shimura girls usually deep onyx eyes contained a few dimly glowing spects of purple Naruto easily recognized that she was trying to hide her excitement. His countenance began to grow nervous and he couldn't help but continuesly shift his eyes between the smiling Shimura and the steaming cup of ramen in her hand.

"Inoha is in the kitchen preparing breakfast. I asked her to let me do the honors of getting you up today."

"I'm up!" He said quickly shuffling out of the bed and trying not to show just how on the edge he was at the moment.

Imari said nothing but just continued to grin and he swallowed the lump in his throat remembering she had yet to get her revenge for two days ago.

"Look Imari.. whatever happened between us before, that's no reason to bring my ramen into this."

"Oh but isn't it Naruto?" She said tilting the cup just slightly.

Out of instinct Naruto took a half step forward but Imari tilting the cup a bit more and yelling that she would do it stopped him in his tracks immediately. She grinned liking his response and Naruto began to sweat not liking anything about the situation.

"Please Imari chan, just think about what you're doing! That cup of ramen has nothing to do with this!"

Imari began cackling madly and Naruto tried to slowly inch his way closer without being noticed.

"Stop right there Naruto Uzumaki! If you really want this cup here to survive the next minute you'll stand there and listen to what I have to say!"

Naruto went still as a statue and said nothing. Imari began laughing again and the blonde could swear she was the very picture of Anko at the moment.

"Now that I have your undivided attention I want you to know that it's nothing personal. You're a good kid and all but no one gets one over on Imari Monogahi Shimura!"

"You're better than this Imari!" He shouted attempting to reason with the girl. She only tipped the cup further and continued grinning wickedly.

"I'm begging you oneesan!" He said with steadily widening eyes and an ever increasing heart rate. She grinned even wider and turned the cup on a full tilt ignoring his plea for mercy and forgiveness.

Naruto leapt forward attempting to catch it and turn it right side up before it's contents could spill. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as the worlds greatest advocate for ramen watched the delicious cups contents spilled out and crashed against the floor creating a mess Inoha would later scold Imari for making the servants clean up. As he took in the sight before him and the still warm broth washed over his hands Naruto's mind was assaulted by all the thoughts of what could have been.

A loud cry of grief made the birds roosting in the tree just outside the compound take off as they were startled away.

 **Konoha Residential District**

Teuchi woke with a start throwing his blankets to the side and looking around his room with a frown. He couldn't shake the feeling that a great injustice against good food had just been committed somewhere within the village.

After about two minutes of frowning at nothing he shrugged his shoulders and decided to lay back down and get a few more minutes of rest before he had to go open up shop.

 **Shimura compound-4:18am**

Inoha looked up from what she was doing as what could only be described as a cry of anguish sounded throughout the compound, followed by what sounded like cruel laughter inspired by revenge.

She rolled her eyes but smiled lightly knowing the cry was Naruto and the laugh was Imari getting even. She'd known that was coming the moment Imari actually got out of her bed roll easily and request that she leave waking Naruto up to her today.

Inoha was beginning to think that her family might be crazy or even weird by other ninja family standards. The tied up and groggy looking Sasuke who was just beginning to wake up would've likely agreed with her on that one.

"Good morning Sasuke kun."

The Uchiha's eyes flicked open and he came to the realization that the later events of yesterday hadn't been some kind of nightmare. Someone had definitely tied him up to a chair and it seemed like he was tied to the same chair as before, only it'd been moved into what looked like a kitchen but was surely some kind of hidden torture room in disguise.

He looked around and didn't see any sign of his purple haired tormenter being nearby but he knew the girl wouldn't have made it this easy for him. Releasing a groan that bespoke of pure annoyance he started fiddling with the bindings keeping him tied to the chair once again.

"Did you ever go home last night Sasuke?" Inoha asked upon turning around and noting the bags under his eyes.

"No! Your crazy sister left me tied to this stupid chair." He grumbled still focusing all his attention on freeing himself.

Inoha resisted the urge to laugh but Anko did no such thing as she stepped from the other side of the room directly into Sasuke's line of sight.

"All you had to do was escape the bindings Sasuke. It's so easy a cave shinobi could do it."

Sasuke glared pure fire and brimstone towards the kunochi in front of him but to no effect.

"If my father finds out about this he-"

"He'll applaud me for a job well done. Your father knows exactly what's going on seeing as I sent a messenger to let him know you'd be staying the night here yesterday."

Sasuke's completely befuddled expression was priceless.

Just as she'd been about to tease him a bit more a depressed looking Naruto walked into the kitchen with a chipper and triumphant looking Imari behind him.

The blonde took one glance at the Uchiha before chuckling as his mood picked up instantly at the sight he wished he could wake up to every morning.

"That's a good look for you Sasuke."

"Shut the hell up Naruto."

"Language, Sasuke." All three Shimura sisters chided at the same time. Naruto's smirk into an all out grin like a kid recieving the best birthday present and Sasuke's scowl grew into an all out glare.

"Why the heck isn't he tied up to a chair?" He demanded shooting Anko a look of righteous indignation.

"Naruto and Hinata both impressed me when we did this exercise yesterday morning so now it's your turn to show me something."

Sasuke scoffed. "So they got to do this as a team exercise but I'm by myself? That hardly seems fair."

"Life isn't fair Sasuke..especially not the life of a Shinobi. We do the most for the village and inevitably we're always the one's that sacrifice the most for it too."

Sasuke gave nothing as a reply, choosing to ignore the lesson he didn't need or ask for in favor of continuing to search for some kind of weakness in the bindings he could exploit. Inoha sat a plate down in front of him before undoing the bindings around his wrist for him to which he looked at her with confusion and a fair amount of suspicion.

"Oneesan will keep tying you up until she's sure you can escape, but we have morning exercises in a few minutes and she's going to give you a hard time so you should eat."

Sasuke regarded her and the food she placed in front of him for few more moments before weighing his options.

After a small bit of thinking he came to the conclusion that he wouldn't be able to escape from the crazy Shimura girl while malnourished and unrested. With a fair amount of reluctance he picked up the chop sticks that'd been placed in front of him and began to eat.

 **Hokage's office-4:25am**

Tsunade walked into the Hokages office and was greeted with the sound of a certain giggling pervert saying 'ladies don't touch me there.' Her head swiveled towards the sound and she was only greeted with the sight of Jiriya sleeping by himself at her desk.

She looked to the Hokage who'd just arrived thirty minutes prior and was pulling something from his file cabinet. She rolled her eyes at the sight of his amused look, choosing not to comment on the kind of dream the toad sage was having, she walked towards her sensei's desk and placed an extra cup of coffee down in front of the stack of paperwork he was already at work on.

Hiruzen thanked her and she nodded telling him it was no problem as had become their daily routine.

She turned her gaze back towards Jiriya who was snoring lightly.

"Did he actually spend the night here?"

"It would appear so. When I left last night he said he was in the process of finishing up and I returned earlier to find him as he is now."

Tsunade walked towards the desk and began looking through the paperwork stacked around the Sannin's head. To her surprise the majority of it appeared to be finished. He'd even drawn up a chart of the hospitals expenses and left suggestions on how to make things a bit more efficient while spending less money.

Unable to help herself she smiled before slamming a hand onto the desk.

"Please don't hurt me ladies! I swear I'll never peep again!"

Tsunade raised an eyebrow and her smile turned into a smirk. Hiruzen made a gurgling sound courteousy of Jiriya's comment making him choke on his coffee before making an unsuccessful attempt to keep himself from laughing.

Tsunade watched her sensei for a moment before rolling her eyes and turning them towards the man with the long white mane of spiked hair, and the pair of sleepy onyx eyes that didn't seem to really be looking at _her_ per say.

"Unbelievable." She remarked folding her arms ovee her chest and waiting for Jiriya to join them fully. The Sannin looked up and blinked a few times before around the room and growing a bit red with embarrassment after recalling what he'd yelled when he woke up.

He coughed and crossed his arms trying to appear dignified which only caused Hiruzen to laugh a bit more at his expense, and Tsunade to smirk at him his face only grew in color. He coughed once more attempting to clear his throat and find a way to draw all attention away from that statement.

"I-"

"Save it." Tsunade said thrusting the cup of coffee she'd made for herself towards him.

Jiriya looked at the mug with an expression of surprise before raising his gaze to meet Tsunade's.

"Hime?"

Tsunade made a sound of displeasure and her look of amusement was replaced with a frown.

"How many times have I told you not to call me that?"

"Not enough if I'm still doing it apparently." He remarked lowly, taking the mug from her hand and raising it to his face to appraise the temperature before taking a sip.

"What was that?" She asked none too nicely.

"Nothing." He covered easily after taking another long sip of coffee.

Tsunade just looked at him for a few seconds before letting it go.

"Up." She ordered with a motion of her hand. "I appreciate all your help but I still need to go over everything and take a look at your suggestions."

Jiriya put a hand behind his head and leaned back in a rather leisurely manner before taking another sip of coffee and smiling at his fellow Sannin.

"I don't know.. I think I'm due some kind of reward for all my hard work."

Tsunade placed a hand on her hip and widen her stance just slightly before glaring down at the man sitting at her desk. Jiriya to his credit wasn't allowing himself to be intimidated.

"How about I don't break your fingers?"

"How about you let me take you to dinner?"

"How about no?"

"So I'll pick you up at eight then?"

Tsunade looked at him crossly wondering why he seemed so balsy these days compared to when they were younger. She wouldn't be surprised if the pervert had developed an immunity to women's fist over the years. It would do him some good to remember that her fist weren't those of other women however.

"Jiriya.." The blonde intoned in a voice thick with warning.

"Tsunade.." The toad sage purred completely unaffected.

Both Sannin stared unflinchingly into the eyes of the other deadlocked in a battle of wills neither participant had any intention of losing.

Hiruzen cleared his throat earning the attention of the two before any fireworks could beak out.

"He did spend an entire night organizing and signing off on most of your paperwork when any other man would have likely run away. I think you owe it to poor Jiriya to at least consider his request."

"You're not really going to take his side on this are you sensei?"

Unable to contain the beginnings of a smile Hiruzen folded his hands together in front of his face to hide his mouth from view.

"I'm not taking sides. I'm merely suggesting that it couldn't hurt to consider."

Tsunade shot him a look that said 'just stay out of this' but it only caused his eyes to flicker in amusement.

"How about you two settle it with a friendly sparing match?" Hiruzen offered.

"How about no?"

"I actually like that idea." Jiriya chirped causing the blonde to turn and look at him incredulously.

"You think you actually stand a chance in a one on one spare with me?"

Jiriya shrugged his shoulders looking like the picture of confidence as he kept his hands folded behind his head and smiled as if he was unconcerned.

"We both know you're stronger, faster, have more chakra and happen to be a better sensory ninja than me, but I'm sure we also know my arsenal of different justu and techniques will give me an edge that you won't be expecting."

"Dream on." Tsunade replied believing otherwise. "And if your going after a date what do I get if I win?"

Hiruzen's voice quickly supplied an answer from across the room.

"I'd suggest you have another desk moved up here and he takes over half of your paperwork for the next month."

Jiriya's confident facade fell away as he choked on his coffee like Hiruzen had earlier and feverntly shaking his head no towards his sensei. Tsunade turned back towards him with a wicked grin in place that said it all.

"You're on frog boy. Just be sure to remember the stakes of our bet and not try to chicken out on our deal either."

Jiriya's shoulders sagged and he hung his head low as if in defeat. Tsunade almost laughed but she remembered he was sitting at her desk.

"Hey!"

Jiriya looked up unable to stop himself from faking sadness as he wasn't faking. The thought of all that paperwork for an entire month hurt him more than the first time he'd gotten his wallet back after letting Naruto go on an eating spree at Ichiraku ramen.

Tsunade had her arms crossed and she was looking at him with an expression of impatience. He took the moment to admire the woman before she snarled upon noticing what he was doing.

"Get your slimy butt out of my chair so I can get some work done before I drag you through the mud!"

 **Shimura clan training field-5:12am**

Sasuke swung twice, Anko stepped back twice and held her foot out on the last step catching his leg and sending him tumbling.

"Stop being so bras." She commanded.

Sasuke growled and and stood up charging her again. She parried his fist but he used his momentum to step into a round house Anko stepped under. Feeling that he missed he shifted into a sweep she stepped clear of before rushing forward and feinting like she was going to try to knee him with her right leg but effortlessly chopping him over the head with her left hand instead.

Sasuke groaned and held his head a moment before attempting to shift into position for another attack. Before he'd known she moved he felt his arm get pulled behind his back.

Anko shoved him away and he stopped himself from falling over before rubbing his arm and glaring in her direction.

"You're putting too much thought into defeating your opponent without even account for the difference in skill and skill level. Stop trying to force your way through my guard with raw force. When facing a superior opponent one needs to employ a superior strategy. Fight me defensively this time and bite your time until you see an opening, or until you think you can make one. If you fail to land a blow I'm tying you to the chair again."

Sasuke grimaced at the thought of once again being tied to the wooden chair he'd barely even escaped the first time.

"Tch.. Fine! I'll try it your way."

Anko smirked and got into another stance, eyes twinkling with approval as Sasuke waited for her to make the first move this time unlike all the others.

Not wanting to disappoint she rushed forward and threw two jabs the Uchiha deflected with the palms of his hands. Anko stepped forward right after her last punch was deflected and attempted catch him with an elbow. Sasuke caught her arm and pulled her forward throwing a jab of his own which Anko swatted aside before going low and making a sweep at his legs. He jumped backwards and threw a kunai that was meant and knocked away harmlessly by one thrown by Anko.

The Uchiha resquared his stance and Anko waited patiently knowing what was to come next. Sasuke rushed forward and Anko meant him halfway.

For a moment the two remained in one spot making no move to really push the attack but simply blocking and countering each other. Anko was pleased to see Sasuke wasn't just attacking with reckless abandon anymore, instead he was attacking and defending, watching her closely and waiting for an opening.

Anko smirked lightly and decided to reward him for being a good little junior shinobi. She waited until his next attack to do so, parrying a right hook and throwing a right hook of her own she overextended when she threw on purpose, leaving her side open for an attack by the Uchiha if he was quick enough to reach it before she pulled back.

Sure enough Sasuke took notice of the mistake the moment her parried her right hook. Knowing he wouldn't have much time till she pulled her arm back he spun on his heel lifting one foot off the ground and sending it speeding right towards Anko's ribcage.

Unbeknownst to Sasuke Anko had ample time to pull back, but instead of doing that she twisted her body around in a way that was almost unnatural, catching the surprised Uchiha with a kick that landed hard into his chest and knocked him a short distance away.

Sasuke pushed himself up on all fours but remained on the ground struggling to regain the breath he'd just had knocked out of his lungs.

"And yet another wayward soul falls prey to the ever cunning mind of the snake!" The clone teased while grinning broadly. "That was actually pretty good. You'll become more accustom to pain as you're exposed to it, so don't let that kick discourage you." She advised right before throwing four kunai high into the air and throwing another four forward. "Get yourself in gear duck face!"

Sasuke grumbled something about crazy shadow clones and picked himself up off the ground just to throw himself down again as the kunai that'd been flying straight towards him just barely missed and planted themselves inside the trunk of a tree not too far away. Using her fingers to manipulate the ninja wire she'd attached to the kunai in the air Anko's clone assured each overhead projectile landed exactly where she needed them to be as the Uchiha stood and avoided the falling weapons in a pattern completely of her design.

Taking just another second to direct the second to last of the falling kunai into the center she snapped a wire just as the projectile landed, causing many other bonds to tighten and snap around Sasuke's ankle, tripping and bringing him to the ground. Anko rushed in to deal the finishing blow but she got a face full of dirt for all her troubles.

Sasuke began running through hand signs as quickly as he could, stopping on tiger and breathing a large ball of fire that wasn't nearly as big as his brothers but still served its purpose as it washed over the form of the clone and exploded as it crashed against a tree a short distance away.

Sasuke picked himself up off the ground and fell back down when the ninja wire around his ankle tightened and pulled on his leg again causing him to lose balance.

"Better." He heard Anko's voice remark before another kunai landed by his head symbolizing the kill blow. "Cut yourself loose already Sasuke." The clone said coming into view and brushing what looked to be a bit of either ash or soot off itself. "We aren't done yet."

Sasuke grumbled again but grabbed the kunai and moved to cut himself loose knowing that if he took too long she'd have no qualms about attacking him while his leg was still tied up.

 **0o0o0o0o0o**

Anko's other clone was walking through the wooded area of the training ground content to just stroll along knowing it's prey would come eventually. Naruto stood among the high branches of the tree's above the head of the junior kunochi who called him prey. Standing with him was around fifteen shadow clones all of which were spread out amongst the foliage and keeping an eye on the Anko clone below.

Between Naruto and the bodies of all his clones in the area a certain portion of the sunlight coming down from the canopy above was dark at the moment. When Anko's eyes landed on the dark patch of shadow on the ground she looked up with an expression that said I'm going to punish you for making such a rudimentary mistake.

Naruto meant Anko's gaze but gave no indication that he'd noticed her aside from using a gesture to order that his clones spread out which they immediately took to following. It confused her when they began moving around the tree's in some kind of predetermined patern instead of attacking head on like they would usually.

Anko didn't know what the blonde was planning, but she said screw it, she'd take the bait and face his challenge head on.

She leapt into the tree with the clone closest to her and the clone stood where he was on the branch taking a ready stance. Anko approached casually and took two lazy kunai swings at the clone before making a fient and catching it off guard on it's left and dispelling it with a swift chop to the neck.

The clone heard a familiar snap and saw a few thin lines gleam in the sun.

She heard another snap and saw a wire pull tight on another wire causing a few lines of ninja wire she was just now seeing to tighten and slice through the trunks of a few tree's that began falling towards her the moment their trunks had been cut.

"You and Izumi aren't thr only one's who learned a few tricks from Hatsue Nee!" One of the blondes shouted.

The clone leapt from the branch she was on but was faced with a fireball heading straight towards her in the very moment her feet left the branch. Naruto thought he saw the fireball engulf the clone and he took a moment to revel in his small victory until he heard the air flicker behind him.

"You're the real Naruto aren't you?" Anko's voice purred in his ear.

"H-How Did you-?!"

"Ah, don't worry about it." She said kicking Naruto out of the tree and leaping after him.

A clone saved the boy from hitting the ground just as she'd expected, but the clone wasn't fast enough to save itself from the kunai she'd had the foresight to throw beforehand. Fortunately a kunai that flew in from the trees around them did that by deflecting her kunai harmlessly to the side. The first kunai was quickly followed up by others all of which were thrown from different directions.

The clone threw three kunai from each hand to intercept the closest projectiles. Six kunai fell to the ground at the same time she landed and she quickly flickered out the path of the one's she hadn't been able to knock down. Naruto and his clone made their way back towards the others, but Anko wasn't too far behind, landing on a branch just one tree away from the real Naruto and sending him a smile he knew was meant to ask if he had more or if it was it her turn yet.

The blonde made a gesture and pointed straight at her, soundlessly ordering that his clones began to spread out and move in. Anko's clone stood ready for them and just like that she was being assaulted by another storm of kunai before she had the chance to move from the branch she stood on.

As she was busy ducking dodging and deflecting, the real Naruto and another group of clones who stood back were busy forming hand signs. Their heads pulled back and came forward, inhaling and then exhaling a breath of wind that left their mouths in the form of a rather impressive ball of fire Sasuke would've been none too happy to see.

The last thing Naruto saw before the fire closed in and exploded was the kunochi or her clone smirking and forming hand signs. She hadn't looked surprised at all when he launched his attack so Naruto figured she'd escaped it somehow.

He told his clones to spread out and search the area and they did so without a word. It made Anko proud to see the blonde had his clones acting like a unit rather than a rag tag group of fighters.

She formed a hand sign and reached above the surface of the ground she'd managed to escape into to avoid his well thought out attack. Her hand wrapped around the calf of a Naruto clone she proceeded to pull into the ground and dispel.

Naruto's head swivelled towards the area where he knew his one of his clones had just disappeared. He made a few more gestures with his hands before pointing.

His clones nodded before pulling kunai from their weapon pouches and beginning to carpet bomb the indicated patch of ground with paperbombs they saw fit to attach to the kunai. Pretty soon there was a low cloud of dust hanging over the area and the lead blonde brought his hand up indicating a cease fire.

A few of his clones moved to search for signs of life and only a moment after entering the cloud of smoke and dust they'd been dispelled. Naruto shouted towards his other clones to stay away from the smoke and on guard, but a fast moving and completely silent kunai took out one of them before it'd had the chance to even get ready to defend itself. Anko was beside the real Naruto in the next moment smiling at the surprised almost panicked look on his face.

Two shadow clones landed on the branch between the two and Naruto leapt away, but Anko wouldn't let them hold her here while the blonde was allowed to retreat. She rushed the clones and stepped out of the way of two punches and one kick before jabbing two fingers into two pressure points on both clones and moving past them as they dispelled.

She lifted her hand and a snake sped from the sleeve of her kimono and wrapped around the real Naruto's ankle catching him in the air mid jump. She yanked her arm towards the ground and with it she pulled the blonde out of the air back towards the branch he'd just attempted to leap from.

Three shadow clones leapt from the trees to her right failing in their surprise attack but succeeding in getting her to relinquish the hold her snake had on Naruto. Anko parried the first three blows and ducked causing one of the clones to punch another hard enough to force it to dispell. The clone that'd punched the other paused for just long enough in it's surprise for Anko to grab his arm and shirt.

She shifting her feet just slightly and proceeded to throw the clone out of the tree before avoiding another punch from the one clone still inhabiting the tree with her. She danced out the way of a few swings and pulled a kunai from her hidden weapons holder without missing a beat. She spun and launched the kunai into the shoulder of the clone that'd leapt from it's hiding place to the rescue the one she'd thrown towards the ground. The wounded clone dispelled right after the kunai hit it's shoulder and the follow up kunai took the other clone out before it had the chance to get it's bearings and land on it's feet.

The clone that'd been on the branch with her beat a retreat the moment it realized she'd still taken down it's comrades despite his efforts to distract her long enough for them to get away. It did the smart thing and got away while it could to conserve numbers.

There was a low whistle and Anko side stepped a kunai that flew a few feet pass her before it exploded into a somewhat smug looking Naruto. The clone threw two more kunai but these kunai planted themselves into two different tree's flanking the one she stood in. The kunai poofed into two Naruto clones who were both standing on the trunks of the tree's and facing her with their hands in the tiger sign.

Anko saw were this was headed and moved to evade the attacks or disable the clones before they could launch them, but something thin yet incredibly strong wrapped around both her ankles and her left arm holding them in place. She looked down and realized the ninja wire Naruto had used to cut down a few tree's earlier was still in play.

It was too late at this point but she realized him using the wire to cut the tree's had only been something of a blanket or a stepping stone to cover and set up for the real trap he'd lured her into.

"Well played brat." She remarked just as the blondes released their attacks.

The ensuing explosion blew away a few tree's in the immediate area.

Inoha took just a second to look away from the barrage of punches and kicks her group of Naruto clones were sending her way. She kept the majority of her focus on the blondes, but turned slightly towards the area where the real Naruto and Anko were training, wondering if they were overdoing it. She was drilling him in taijustu, Imari in Kenjustu, and Anko in battlefield tactics and planning.

She didn't see where all the explosions she could hear and feel came into the picture, but she figured Anko knew what she was doing. She turned her full focus back towards her group really hoping Anko wouldn't overdue it and hurt the real Naruto somehow.

Meanwhile the real Naruto and his remaining clones were searching the area for the kunochi's clone. He didn't think she would go out that easily and he was proven right when his clones began to disappear. His first thought was to create more but Anko limited him to twenty per group. Apparently it was supposed to make him a better strategist and a more careful shinobi than he'd be without such a limitation during training or sparring sessions.

The smoke from the burning tree's in the area was making his eyes water. The sound of the burning wood was a distraction to his ears and if a kunai was thrown towards him he likely wouldn't hear it's whistle until it was too late. He knew he still had five shadow clones out there waiting for orders so he shouted at them to regroup and get out of the small forest since Anko obviously had the advantage admist the burning tree's.

"Not so fast ototo!" Anko called falling out of a tree and landing in front of the blonde.

Naruto's remaining clones surrounded him just a moment after hearing her voice. One at his back, one on either side, and two out in front since that was the mostly likely position of attack. Anko could've attacked the original before the clones had a chance to regroup and form a defensive wall around him, but she actually preferred it this way.

"Surrender now and I won't hurt you."

Naruto and his clones all looked at each other confused at what she was saying.

"We can do that?" The clone standing at the right of the blonde asked.

Anko shrugged. "Sometimes the soundest strategy you can decide on is to surrender and fight another day. Not all enemies will kill you if you surrender, but most will definitely kill you if you continue fighting."

Naruto's clones looked at him questioningly and he thought about it for a moment before shrugging his shoulders like she'd just done seconds before.

"That's good advice but I'd rather go out fighting than spending the rest of the morning tied to a chair again."

Anko raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"Are you sure about that Naruto?"

He nodded his head and Anko looked pleased. She summoned two snakes from her sleeves and looked at the blondes expectantly. Naruto answered her look with a gesture of his hand and the group of blondes charged the lone purple haired shadow clone.

Anko stood admist a flurry of punches and kicks deftly weaving blocking and throwing counters for every hit that came her way. Naruto was improving quickly. He was becoming more of a fighter snd tacticion with each passing day, but it still only took about two minutes for the Anko clone to finish off the Naruto clones.

When it was just her and Naruto left standing the blonde contemplated any possible avenue's of escape. The point of this spare was to develop and execute tactics and strategies that could be used to take down a superior opponent.

Running away didn't count as taking her down, but considering he was destined to lose anyway he figured it was still a viable strategy to use against a stronger opponent.

He decided that was what he'd do until an unlikely figure landed beside him.

"I was wondering when you'd show up Hinata." Anko's clone said looking unsurprised. "The real me sent you to give blondie here backup?"

Hinata shook her head no causing the duo to wonder at why she was there if that wasn't the case.

"She asked me what I'd like to do as a morning exercise and I-" Hinata hesitated and looked away from Anko as a light shade of pink began to dust her cheeks. "I said that I would like to spare against Naruto Kun, but since he's already sparing against you I was told I would have to settle for sparring with him. I hope that that's alright with you, Naruto kun."

"Of course it's okay Hinata. I feel way more confident now than I did a few seconds ago." Naruto said picking himself up and grinning as he gained a second wind.

Hinata blushed a bit harder and look away self consciously. Th-That's great Naruto kun! L-Lets be sure to do our best!" She stammered right before slipping into her usual stance.

"Right!" Naruto said doing the same, only Hinata noticed he didn't just raise his fist like usual, he took an actual stance. "You ready Hinata?" The Hyuga jump slightly at being addressed by the blonde she didn't realize she'd been staring at.

Her face colored just a bit before she shifted her gaze back towards Anko's shadow clone which she began starring down with determination. Anko's clone smirked at the look which Hinata found more than a bit intimidating. She took a deep breath and reminded herself of why she was here and what she'd come with the intention to do.

 _"Just remember what you learned. To fight without confidence in yourself is to already concede defeat to the opponent. I know me and Naruto can't beat Anko, buy it's not like we're in any actual danger. But either way I should try my best!"_

Anko's clone stood where she was making no move to close the distance. The grin she'd adopted a second ago was gone, replareplaced with a look of consideration. Suddenly she began walking towards them and both junior shinobi tensed.

"Since I'm still slightly ahead of you in taijustu I'll engage her directly while you look for openings." Hinata said wordlessly activating her Byakugan.

"Sounds like a plan." Naruto replied feeling like the time to correct her wasn't now.

They might have tied at the Academy but the fact of the matter was that he'd simply gotten lucky and caught her off guard by changing styles. Her taijustu skills were still likely league's ahead of his own and if they did fight again he knew she wouldn't fall for the same thing twice.

"I'm ready whenever you're ready, but before you attack yoi should know that this clone probably already used a good amount of it's chakra fighting me and my shadow clones. She'll probably play with us for a few minutes before going for a decisive win, so be careful."

Hinata's face colored yet again at the blondes words of warning. It almost seemed like he was expressing some concern which he was in a way. Anko was definitely cunning enough to finish them off quickly if she wanted.

She nodded her head in a silent promise that she'd be carefcareful, before once again gathering her courage, and rushing towards the Shimura intending to meet Anko's clone on her own terms. The clone stopped walking forward when Hinata began rushing towards her. The Hyuga got within range and took two swipes at the clone, but she avoided them easily by just taking two steps backwards.

Naruto rushed past Hinata and threw a right hook. Anko bobbed her head to the right, out of the path of the fist, but Hinata was right there launching a barrage of palm strikes she was hard pressed to dodge as she hadn't had the chance to reset her feet after Naruto's attack. Funny how Hinata was supposed to be attacking to create the opening, but Naruto ended up being the one to do it while Hinata attempted to take advantage of it.

Just before the Hyuga was able to land a solid blow to her gut she flickered away from the duo and threw a number of kunai at the two when she reappeared. Both of them leapt out of the way of the projectiles and began closing the distance she'd put between them and her.

Not one to be outclassed twice she began rushing towards them intending to fight them on her terms this time.

She and Naruto reached each other first with Hinata tailing not too far behind the blonde. He threw another one of his signature right hooks and Anko bobbed out of the way and lifted her right hand intending to grab the blondes arm and use his momentum to send him crashing into Hinata. Shockingly her arm went through his arm and he smirked right before the ground beneath her feet rumbled.

A pair of hands she knew to belong to the real Naruto wrapped around her ankles holding her in place as Hinata was rushing in to deliver the final blow. The regular clone of Naruto faded into nothing having already completed it's purpose, and Anko's shadow clone grinned proudly at the plan that'd almost managed to best her...almost.

Two snakes she summoned on her shoulders lifted themselves from the folds of her yukata and spat venom towards the charging Hyuga forcing her to abandon her attack and leap out of the way.

The clone then summoned a special kind of snake that slithered down her arm and into the ground where Naruto was still holding onto her ankles. There was a small explosion in the earth beneath her feet and once again she was free to move as she wanted. The clone wasted no time flickering away and turning towards a shocked looking Hinata who was gazing at the ground with obvious worry.

"I wouldn't kill him you know. He's just probably hurt really badly." The clone said smirking at the Hyuga who only offered her a frown in response.

Her gaze shifted back towards the ground again as it cracked. A hand emerged that was quickly followed by another. In the next moment the blonde was pulling himself up from the earth and dusting himself off. The twins would throw a fit when they saw the burns and scorch marks on his outfit, but other than his hair being charred slightly and his skin being raw from the heat of the explosion in a few places, he looked okay.

Anko wondered why that was. She hadn't planned on killing him of course, but that attack should've knocked him out at the least, and he should've been sporting more injures.

 _"I can't believe they actually forced me to use snakes just now. I guess it's a good thing most minor snakes can be pulled straight from the body of the summoner._ _Still...that attack just now should have knocked him out cold. He can't still be standing because of the nine tails can he?"_

"That was dirty Anko oneesan." The blonde said rolling his shoulders and shaking some of the dust out of his hair. "You could've killed me down there."

"Maybe I could've and maybe I couldn't. I don't think Imari and Inoha would be very forgiving if they found out I killed you in a spare. I know Hinata for one definitely wouldn't appreciate it. She would probably hate me forever, right Hinata chan?"

Naruto looked at Hinata wondering if his life really had that much value to the Hyuga girl he hadn't meant that long ago. Hinata's face started to resemble a cherry at being put on the spot like that. Anko grinned knowing she'd just backed her friend into a corner.

"W-Well..I...I d-don't think I would hate you forever if it was a mistake, b-but I would probably be upset with you for a long time if that happened."

Naruto eyes widened and his face registered surprise. He knew there were people who cared about him now, but knowing and actually hearing it out loud were two different things. He rubbed at one of his eyes as it began to water and offered Hinata the most grateful smile she and Anko could recall ever seen painted on anyone's face.

"Thank you Hinata chan. That really means a lot to me."

The Hyuga was having a hard time catching her breath at the moment but she somehow managed to stammer out a breathless 'You're welcome, Naruto kun.' Anko was grinning evilly behind her sleeve. She'd see to it that these two ended up together in the future, and she would have so much fun doing it.

"Back to the fight!" She exclaimed rushing Hinata, but giving her a chance to get herself together instead of capitalizing on her surprise like she might have done with anyone else. It only took the Hyuga a few seconds to right herself and begin returning fire with a number of punches and kicks.

Due to Naruto's style of fighting being somewhat new to her Hinata over extended trying to catch the clone with a left hook, and Anko stepped forward intending to make her pay for it. The Hyuga surprised her by dropping towards the ground, and Naruto surprised her by flying over Hinata's head with a wicked spin kick. The clone raised both arms as a defense having no time to dodge. The kick slammed into her guard but she held her ground and pushed the Uzumaki away.

Hinata was upon her in the next moment throwing regular Hyuga style palm strikes. The clone weaved an attack aimed at her left shoulder before blocking a palm strike aimed at her core and parrying another palm jab Hinata threw with her right.

Another palm jab was thrown which Anko parried just as easily as the others. Hinata used the momentum from her parried strike to spin, taking three swipes at the clone in what appeared to be only one motion, and catching her on the shoulder since they'd been too close for the attack to be avoided in that small window of time.

The clones left shoulder went numb in an instant only to be quickly followed up by her entire left arm.

Figuring that the appendage wouldn't be of any use for some time she summoned a snake from her sleeve that would serve as her left arm for the time being.

She looked away from Hinata with a smile as she registered just how much of a threat she might be in the future if she spent a few more years studying the gentle fist as it was while refining her own style and perfecting Naruto's. No enemy lacking a Sharingan would ever have an easy time predicting her movements when she was up close and in their space. Even the clone who knew how she fought had just been caught off guard by the Hyuga's quick shift to another style in the midst of having her attack blocked.

"Well done princess, but we aren't done just yet."

Hinata returned Anko's grin and readopted her own fighting stance as she felt her confidence rise once again. Meanwhile Naruto grinned as well wondering why he'd never noticed how strong Hinata was before now. Maybe it was the lack of confidence holding her back? He didn't know her that well so he couldn't really say. One thing that he could say though,

was that Hinata was cool to look at when she was showing confidence in her own abilities, and using them to the fullest.

 **0o0o0o0o0o**

A third Anko clone she'd created without giving reason to the others stood within the office of her adoptive father while he went over the documents resting in his hand. The clone waited dutifully as was expected as her clan head and adoptive father went over the informal reports she'd brought him on Naruto and Sasuke.

There weren't many places within the village beyond her seniors eyes and ears, so there wasn't much to be jotted down that he didn't already know.

The report really wasn't at all a necessity, but it was a routine that'd been established soon after he saw fit to name her as deputy commander of NEE. She was expected to hand him a report on a weekly basis even if nothing of interest had occurred that week...although it went without saying that this week had been a rather eventful one.

After a few minutes of waiting the bandaged shinobi retiree finally lifted his gaze away from the document to acknowledge the clone once again.

Despite sharing the same goals along with a few character traits and a similar way of thinking at times, Danzo knew that he and Anko didn't always do things for the same reason. Usually it would seem as if the inner machinations of her mind were on track with his. He knew that usually they were, but Anko had been trained thoroughly in the art of hiding her true intentions, and aside from that she could sometimes be such an enigma that he would be lying if he said he always knew what it was she was thinking or the angle she was playing.

She was so much like Orochimaru in that regard that even he who was so adept at reading a person's intentions was aware that should she wish it he couldn't hope to know what was going in that mischievous little head of hers. Perhaps her teacher had rubbed off on her a bit too much, but it's not like she was picking up skills that wouldn't serve her well in the future.

In hindsight she'd likely picked up a few habits or two from being around and learning from him as well he mused. While something of an inconvenience it was in all actuality more of a boon than anything. Yet her latest decision was puzzling him so of course it was the first thing he would address.

"Why did you decide to take the Uchiha boy under your wing?" Danzo asked with only curiosity.

Anko's clone stood unaffected as if already expecting the question. Danzo would have been disappoint had that not been the case.

"It was something I did on a whim but it actually has it's benefits. The whole of the Uchiha clan that knows of you likely doesn't think too fondly of you, but it's just you they have unfond thoughts towards and not the Shimura as whole. Everyone see's you as either the ninja of shadow or a member of the elder council. As an effect of that, me, Imari, and Inoha have come to be recognized as the face of the Shimura clan. As such-"

Danzo interrupted the clones explanation easily capable of seeing where this was headed. "Our clan already commands a good bit of influence but you think it would be opportunistic to strengthen our ties with the other influential shinobi clans within Konoha correct?"

The clone gave a nod of it's head in confirmation and Danzo sighed. He had no problem admitting to himself that her idea sounded good on paper, yet there was one thing she seemed to be forgetting.

"The Uchiha are not to be trusted. I already explained to you the history of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha. As long as they remain within Konoha there is always a chance of rebellion."

The clone smiled a bit having known beforehand that she would have to answer for that argument once this topic had been brought up.

"If that's the case wouldn't it be best to keep one Uchiha underhand? If they are a potential enemy we should attempt to get close to them right?"

Anko could tell Danzo was serious about the topic at hand because in the dark haze of the office she could see that his one good eye was open.

"Nothing good comes to anyone who gets close to an Uchiha, and nothing short of breaking his mind and reprogramming the boy would get Fugaku's youngest to betray his clan. Additionally, one Uchiha regardless of position, wouldn't be enough of an asset to actually afford us any real sway within their clans hierarchy."

The clone allowed itself to smile a bit more. She knew Danzo wasn't going to want to hear any of what she was saying, but she knew hin being the reasonable man that he was, he would agree with her eventually as long as she brought forth a fair number of good points he couldn't ignore or argue with.

"Out of the bonds I've formed with the Uchiha so far me and Sasuke's is the weakest. He hates me pretty much but I'm sure he'll come around eventually. As for Itachi, he may have never said it, but I'm sure he approves of me being the next Shimura clanhead. Shisui and I are something close to friends and he'll likely be someone of note within his clan in the future as well. I might not know what Izumi will become in the future but she considers me a friend. Hatsue is practically an older sister to me and the twins and she's earned the respect of the majority of her clan."

Danzo was silent for a moment as he thought about the Uchiha woman in mention. The fact that she was slated to be the Jonin sensei for his daughters in a year or two did not necessarily mean that he trusted her, it just meant that he could clearly see that she was the person for the job.

"To tie the Shimura clan to the Uchiha by forming bonds with the next generation of leaders is what you're thinking then? Is forming a tie with the other clans of Konoha the reason behind you forming a bond with the Hyuga girl and the Monogahi boy?"

Anko's clone was actually a bit surprised at the question since Danzo had never questioned her on the state of her relationship with Hamura or Hinata before.

"That wasn't my initial reason. I wanted to train Hinata because it looked like Hamura and Shisui were going to start helping Naruto with his training. Somehow they ended up taking on Shikamaru Nara instead and Imari and Inoha ended up picking up Naruto instead. When I came around I saw that most of the situational spares they were doing were on a level too intense for Hinata, so I decided I'd still train her, and Sasuke came later but he's in the same situation."

Anko left out only the bit about her deciding on it because the two reminded her of herself in a way. Her father could be allowed to think she did it out of pity. He wouldn't like it much but he'd be far more content with that belief than he would with the knowledge that she did it out of a sense of empathy.

Danzo took another glance at the report he'd been holding up with his good arm before sitting it on the desk and scrutinized the clone of his oldest daughter closely for a moment.

"Relationships are not just pointless but also at times detrimental. It is unwise for us to form attachments to others that may distract or hinder us in duty. You have done good things for the future of the Shimura, but you would do well to be careful not to form any further relationships in the future..and not to take the onew you current have too seriously. A shinobi is a weapon, nothing more."

"Understood, Danzo sama."

"Your status report on the Uzumaki?"

"Naruto has a crap load of chakra which let's him do things other shinobi can't do. His chakra levels are easily jonin, and his skill with planning and enacting certain strategies and tactics in the field is improving almost drastically."

"Strategy and tactics?" Danzo interrupted.

"Hai, Danzo sama. He's beginning to use his shadow clones like a shinobi unit in combat situations, and as I was observing him I noticed he even managed to force one of my clones to use the substitution justu twice. I went as far as teaching him the standard anbu visual commands and he mastered them within the morning I taught them."

"Hm." Danzo was slightly impressed. "And his use of strategy?"

"His clones were using mixed unit tactics but it was the strategy he was employing that actually provided me with a bit of a challenge. A few defenders, a few supporters, a small amount of attackers when he needed, and one commander. He knew that I would be aiming for him directly, but he also knew that I wouldn't be in any kind of hurry about it, so his strategy involved biting his time and laying a trap. The first trap was a decoy that laid the ground work and covered for the trap he was really setting."

We at least we know the boy isn't as daft as he lets on at times. Perhaps something else he shared in common with Minato." Danzo mused to himself aloud. "Continue on with the report."

"His taijustu skills are still on the level of a genins now. His kenjustu skills are only a short ways behind that, but Inoha and Imari are working on it. He doesn't struggle to learn new justu as long as they're B rank or below. He has a task oriented mind. I tell him to do something and he hopes to it easily and usually with vigor."

"And you would place him?"

"I would place him at the mid genin rank but I don't expect him to stay there long. Going to the Academy will slow him down but I wouldn't be surprised if he was at the chunin level by the time he graduates."

Danzo nodded his head not at all surprised by her assertion but pleased all the same. The academy proved to only slow down his youngest daughters as well, and unfortunately even with all the changes that had been made to the Academy's curriculum, the time he could spend training at either the Shimura or the Monogahi compound was far more beneficial.

"What of the others you've taken under your tutelage?" He inquired only for curiosity sake.

"Hinata is at the low genin rank and I'd say Sasuke is still at the rank of shinobi trainee. A few more days or weeks of training and he'll be at low genin as well. He isn't very far behind Hinata actually, he just needs to focus a bit more on improving himself rather than chasing after his brothers shadow."

"And Fugaku was actually okay with his youngest son training under a Shimura?"

The clone gave a nod of its head.

"I assured him you would not be involved in his sons training and he saw no reason to turn down my request seeing as it's more of a benefit to him and his own clan more so than to me and mine."

Danzo nodded his head before his eye closed again.

"Dismissed."

The clone was gone in a poof and Danzo was silent for a moment before acknowledging the NEE operative that'd quietly entered the room just before his oldest daughter's clone dispersed.

"Speak."

"The Hokage request your presence immediately Danzo sama. He says that he would like your opinion on a matter he'll be addressing in a council meeting sometime tomorrow."

Danzo nodded his head and stood before giving a visual command with his one good arm and dismissing the anbu. He made his way outside his office and down the hall of his home before stepping outside and proceeding in the direction towards the Hokage's tower.

 **0o0o0o0o0o**

The real Anko sat on the branch of a tree near the porch of the compound, observing the various spares taking place as best she could from where she sat. There was a justu her sensei had taught her that allowed her to see things from the eyes of any snakes in the vicinity. She was currently using it to keep an eye on two out of the four groups since the more snakes she tried to do at once the more disorienting and chakra consuming it was.

She wasn't surprised to see Sasuke making good progress against her clone. He had potential but he was too rash and impatient. That could be beaten out of him with time, and thankfully it was taking less time than she'd originally thought.

What she was surprised to see was just how well Naruto and Hinata worked together against her clone. They hardly really knew each other but there was a lot of trust shared between them. Maybe because Hinata was such a trusting person and Naruto was such and open individual? She didn't really understand considering the majority of her years after the age of five were spent trusting no one.

Her father had told her to never extend true personal trust towards anyone and her sensei had said the same thing. She tried to teach Hinata as much but the Hyuga girl was pretty much her opposite in everyway.

One of those ways was that Anko didn't ever really want or even know how to trust just about anyone or anything, while Hinata genuinely wanted to trust most people and things.

Her internal musings came to an intermediate halt as two familiar figures flickered into view below the tree branch she was sitting on. Anko raised a brow but didn't bother opening her eyes. She could switched off from Sasuke's group so that she could see them clearly through the eyes of a black garden snake nearby.

"So you guys are here to take Sasuke away from me?"

Itachi and Izumi nodded their heads not bothering to ask how she happened to ascertain their intentions and identities so quickly without even opening her eyes.

"He'll be mine after night fall right?"

Itachi nodded his head and Anko looked pleased before giving a whistle and going back to her internal musings and surveillance. A few seconds later Itachi and Izumi saw Sasuke and a clone of Anko walking towards them. Sasuke was a little beaten up, and he looked like he was tired, but aside from that he wasn't any worse for the wear.

"Be sure to save some energy for later brat." The real Anko commented from her perch in tree that rested beside the back porch of the large manor that made up the main Shimura household.

Sasuke couldn't have stopped himself from glaring at the demon with the purple hair. She took pleasure in making him squirm and he wondered if she was just that sadistic or if she just so happened to have a special place inside her wicked heart for him.

"Ohayo gozaimasu, Izumi chan." The Anko clone greeted completely ignoring Sasuke's glare and looking towards the Uchiha girl she was now contemplating the idea of seeking a rematch from.

"Good morning to you too Anko chan." Izumi greeted warmly while thinking something along the same lines of a rematch.

The two began discussing their last battle as Sasuke came to stand beside his older brother who'd taken a moment to look towards the two sides of the field occupied by a number of Naruto clones currently engaged in mock battles with Anko's twin sisters.

"Nii-san?" Sasuke asked confused as to what his brother was doing here.

"Ohayo gozaimasu, Sasuke. You look like you had a rough night." Itachi said with a smile that was just a bit teasing in nature.

Sasuke made a sound of displeasure but choose not to comment on that.

"Good morning Niisan." He grumbled adding a fair amount of sarcasm to the good part of the greeting before turning to Izumi and nodding respectfully.

"Ohayo gozaimasu, Izumi chan."

Izumi beamed and returned his greeting.

Itachi immediately noticed that his little brother no longer seemed to hold a personal vendetta against his friend and he wondered what'd happened recently to change the usual dynamic between the two. Izumi had always adored his little brother yet Sasuke had always hated Izumi for some reason. He would have to ask Izumi about it later when Sasuke wasn't around.

"Come Sasuke. You'll be participating in training sessions in the mornings with me and Izumi for the next two months."

"Finally! I knew you'd invite me to train with you eventually Nii-san! And it's about time someone rescued me from that crazy girl over there." He said with a look in Anko's direction.

Itachi just nodded and smiled at his younger sibling placing a hand on his head.

"She'll still get you once the sun goes down so try not to feel too relieved little brother. I've also been asked to deliver a message to Imari from her cousin."

The real Anko whistled and Imari's head swivelled towards her sister and the Uchiha standing a moderate distance away.

She parried a kunai strike from a Naruto clone and stepped out of the path of another before ducking under the swing of a third, standing and rolling over its back and parrying two more clones before flickering away and holding up a time out sign.

"Take five guys!"

The assembly of clones all groaned before just beginning to duel each other.

"You called me?" Imari asked after moving to stand in front of Anko.

Her sister nodded her head before looking towards Itachi.

"Nubutaka san request that you stop by his compound as soon as you're able. He says that he has a few junior swordsmen there that he thinks you and Shisui would make the perfect opponents for."

Imari wasted no time flickering out of sight on her way towards the Monogahi compound.

"Ah come on! I was just getting good at applying group pressure!" One of the Naruto's in the kenjustu group shouted causing the others who were still dueling to stop.

Sasuke snorted at the clone that'd spoken.

"And it's takes about thirty of you a session to actually improve enough to do that."

All of the Naruto clones including the ones in the other groups look like they wanted to say something to Sasuke but it was the same clone who'd spoke that opened it's mouth to reply.

"I bet I'd still mop the floor with you in a kenjustu battle duck face!"

Sasuke prepared to fire a retort but Itachi cut him off by stooping down, grabbing him around his legs, pressing his shoulder into his stomach, and standing up so that his little brother was over one of his shoulders before he could continue arguing with Naruto, and also before he could give any protest. Itachi took one last look at the blonde he thought might make an interesting rival for his little brother before nodding politely and flickering away with a smiling Izumi staying behind to bid everyone a proper farewell before taking off after him and Sasuke.

"If Imari Chan is going to be fighting some swordsman we've never seen before I wanna watch!" One of the blondes clones shouted right after the Uchiha disappeared.

Before Inoha or Anko could say anything the clone that'd spoken took off followed by all the others including the real Naruto.

Inoha quickly took off after the Naruto clones that'd been in her training group. They weren't finished yet and she hadn't given them permission to leave. She wanted to see Imari fight too but that didn't mean the lesson was over.

Anko's group had been the group with the real Naruto and the two clones she'd made to spare with Naruto and Sasuke were standing by waiting for her orders. She gave a visual command and the two took off after the blondes.

Anko turned towards Hinata with an almost feral grin. "Don't wait up princess." She said right before disappearing in a flicker.

Hinata was a bit surprised at how quickly things just happened but she quickly followed knowing she would likely be the last person to arrive.

 **Nara Clan Compound-5:21am**

Shikamaru woke with a slight start and looked around his room before looking out the window and deducing that it was at least five and his tormentors had yet to come wake him for the usual morning routine. He didn't know if they were away on a mission or if they'd just decided to sleep in today, and he didn't care either..he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

The Nara let his head fall back onto the pillow, hoping his mother wouldn't come wake him anytime soon regardless of it almost being time for the Academy day to get started. Unfortunately for him Shikaku didn't have to be to work as early as usual today.

He heard a chair being pulled up next to his bed but he ignored it in favor of getting some more well needed and well deserved rest. When the person who'd placed the chair next to his bed began shaking his arm Shikamaru groaned and turned himself towards the other side.

"Oi, Shikamaru!"

Another groan was the Nara's only reply.

Shikamaru pulled the blanket up over his head and Shikaku groaned in an almost perfect imitation of his son whenever he was annoyed by something. The Nara clan patriarch wordlessly preformed the shadow possession justu and forced his son to sit up and get out of bed.

Just as he prepared to go into a lecture about how waking himself up early was now one the responsibilities that came with getting older, the feint sound of snoring reached his ears, making him pause and take a moment to look closer.

Shikaku's left eye twitched a bit as he realized Shikamaru was still sleeping even while standing up. He facepalmed and released his justu causing his son's body to fall to the floor now that it wasn't being forced to hold itself up. The now woke Shikamaru jumped to his feet and began to look around the room till his eyes landed on his father and he groaned.

"Did you have to push me out of the bed to wake me up?"

"I didn't push you." Shikaku said not attempting to hide the smirk that didn't help him look all too convincing. "You actually fell."

Shikamaru didn't believe his father for a minute but he decided he would pay him back for it later when he was least expecting it.

"What time is it?" He asked raising a hand above his eyes to block the beams of early morning sunlight as he looked outside.

"Almost time for you to be getting yourself ready for school, but before you do-" He trailed off.

Shikamaru followed his father's hand to see he was gesturing towards a shogi board sitting on a table that hadn't been there the night before. Wordlessly he picked himself up off the floor and moved to sit on the edge of his bed, right in front the table while his father moved to sit in the chair at the other end.

"So how goes your training with team twelve?"

Shikamaru moved a pawn forward a space and replied without looking up. "Bothersome, but I can't say that it hasn't had it's benefits."

"Benefits?" Shikaku queried mimicking his sons first move.

Shikamaru nodded his head and moved his knight into a position where it would be ready to support a few pawn in a couple of moves. "I'm ahead of pretty much everyone in my year besides maybe Naruto. I doubt I would've progressed so quickly if not for those guys."

Shikaku moved another pawn forward, and Shikamaru's hand shot out to move one of his pawns that shared the same side of the board as the piece his father just moved.

"Well your mother's stopped nagging me about your lack of motivation so I'd say your doing a good job."

"What mom nags you about isn't any of my business. It's not my fault you decided to marry such a stubborn woman."

"You're still young so I expect comments like that. One day when you're older you'll come to realize that all women are stubborn."

Shikamaru snorted but kept his focus on the game and what it looked like his father was planning on doing.

Shikamaru had watched his father play others before and he knew that usually Shikaku would set up for a Funa-gakoi formation because it was flexible enough for him to adapt to most situations. That formation was one of his father's greatest strengths and the worst enemy of Shikamaru who tended to play the game without the use of the typical formations and tactics most were familiar with.

His unusual style of play made him harder to predict, yet Shikaku seemed capable of adapting to any new strategy or tactics. The fact that Shikamaru was familiar with the strengths and weaknesses that the traditional tactics possessed didn't give him an edge against his father like it did against almost everyone else that played shogi. It actually made his father a bit more aware of what weak points Shikamaru would try to exploit in his formations.

Despite that Shikamaru would usually still center his plan around attacking and exploiting those weak points. He failed almost every time but he knew he would be successful one day, and he was really looking forward to it.

 **Monogahi compound-5:22am**

Suigestu yawned and stretched his arms taking a sip from one of the two small containers of water he kept on his person. Kokiri stood beside him with her arms folded and a slight look of irritation being sent in the direction of her other brother. Togastu was currently pacing back and forth with his sword dragging behind him in the dirt, muttering a single curse at thirty second intervals.

"Where the hell are these guys!?"

"Be patient." Amaris asserted without looking up from the sword she was polishing. "They'll be here as soon as they get the message."

"They should of been here already." Togastu grumbled kicking a rock at a tree. "I still don't see why we had to get up so early when this will probably just be a waste of time anyway."

Amaris laughed and Kokiri rolled her eyes at her brothers complaining.

"One of them has to attend academy classes during the day and the other is likely getting himself ready to take the Chunin exams. I figured it'd be best to do this early so that we don't interfere with either of their daily routines."

Togastu let loose another grumble and Amaris continued ignoring him as he went back to pacing back and forth. Suigestu for the most part was ignoring his brother as well. He simply kept his gaze towards the western end of the compound while sipping his water. Kokiri continued to glare in Togastu's direction, finding that his lack of patience was only doing a good job of wearing down on hers.

"That isn't going to help them show up any sooner."

Togastu turned towards his sister and meant her glare with one of his own but choose to simply not comment and went back to pacing. Kokiri looked a bit more irate but also chose to refrain from any further comments.

A flicker of movement so fast thay it was almost imperceptible occurred to Togastu's right and he fell over in surprise as suddenly there an Uchiha was standing among them as if he'd been there the entire time.

Suigestu developed a small grin as he took stock of the newcomer. The guy had two swords strapped to his back so he was obviously one of the swordsmen they'd be facing. He look confident enough, but more than that he had an alertness about him. Suigestu could tell that the guy knew he and his siblings weren't from the Konoha, and he wasn't fully letting his guard down as a precaution which was smart. It spoke of experience beyond what he would've expected from most leaf village genin.

He wore black shinobi shorts and aside from the strap keeping the swords on his back he carried three shinobi weapon holders. One on his hip, one strapped to his leg, and the other on his right flank. Suigetstu was almost sure his black shirt had the Uchiha emblem on the back. He also had a leather weapon holder that kept what looked like two bone swords strapped to his back.

He looked like a genin with some experience on the battle field, but other than the bone swords and the three weapon holders that suggested he was as good with long ranged weapons as he was with melee weapons, he didn't really look like much.That aside the Uchiha's poise lead him to believe that he might actually be a good opponent.

"Suigestu Hozuki of the Hozuki clan."

"A Hozuki in Konoha huh? I wouldn't have believed it if it wasn't for your pointed teeth and the feeling I get that you guys are looking at me like food." Shisui said extending his hand and offering a friendly smile. "It's nice to meet you guys. My name is Shisui Uchiha, and I'll try my best not to disappoint during our fight."

Suigetsu took his hand and shook while Togastu snorted at Shisui's closing statement. The guy looked confident enough. He even stood like he had some experience, but he honestly didn't look like much.

"Don't mind him and his attitude. That's just my younger brother Togastu. The one with her arms crossed looking just as impatient is my younger sister Kokiri. She isn't really a swordsmen but she fights with us so she'll be included in our battle."

Shisui nodded in understanding and gave a respectful bow as a way of greeting the two. Togastu snorted and turned away from Shisui, but Kokiri at least had the manners to return his bow even if it looked like she didn't really want to.

"So where's your partner?" Suigestu asked noticing Shisui had come all alone when Amaris had remarked that the battle would be two on three.

"Oh I'm sure she's on the way. I just got the message not too long ago and her compound is further away than mine. She should be arriving any minute now."

Just as Shisui finished his sentence someone lept from the Eastern edge of the compounds roof to land at his side.

"Speak of the devil." Shisui said grinning in Imari's direction as she took stock of the new comers.

The air of experience exuded by the three wasn't something that could be faked. Imari knew from their presence alone that they were all experienced when it came to real shinobi combat.

"These guys are Chunin?"

The question had been meant for Shisui but it was Amaris who answered.

"I see Danzo has been grooming you well Imari chan. Anko Inoha and Naruto aren't coming to watch you fight?"

The Shimura girl looked as if she didn't know what she was being asked before she grew sheepish and started rubbing the back of her head.

"Uhm! Well...I was really excited when I heard me and Shisui are supposed to be fighting against a couple of shinobi swordsmen. I might have just ran off without saying anything to anyone."

Before Amaris could say anything she saw a bunch of yellow in the distance and realized it was a pack of blondes. She smiled for a moment until she noticed something seemed off about the group of Naruto's. She raised a hand over her eyelids to block the sun and stood up, squinting to get a better view.

Trailing right behind the group and knocking down every clone unfortunate enough to fall behind the others was the other two Shimura girls.

"I guess you weren't the only one who ran away without saying anything." Amaris chuckled causing the others to turn and see what she was looking at. One Naruto who'd been lucky enough to pull ahead of the others rushed into the tree Amaris was sitting on hoping to be protected by the presence of the Konochi on the lower branch.

The Hozuki siblings watched with some confusion as the two who'd been giving chase began dispatching the remaining blondes on the field with extreme prejudice. When the clones were finished the newcomers looked to the base of the tree where Amaris was meeting their gazes with a look of amusement.

"Can we have him?" Anko asked earning a shake of the head that calmed Naruto's rapidly beating heart.

"He's too cute to let you guys beat him up in front of me..but I can't stop you when I'm not here though."

Anko and Inoha smirked and Naruto gulped wondering if he should just stay the night at his apartment tonight as a way to avoid bodily harm. Amaris turned towards the branch he inhabited above her and smiled brightly.

"It's been a while since we've hung out Naruto kun! We should go out and get some ramen later after you're done at the academy!"

At the mention of ramen Naruto had a painful flashback of something that occurred earlier that morning causing Amaris some confusion as he looked slightly distressed for a moment.

"I've got after school classes but I'd love to go out and get some ramen." He said promising revenge on a silently chuckling Imari who was attempting to hide her giggling behind a confused Shisui. Suigestu meanwhile was studying her loosely like he'd done the Uchiha.

The girl wore a clean white cheongsam top with red and orange flowers, black shinobi slacks, and black shinobi sandles with white socks. She had a diamond shaped face and her hair was tied into a neat bun at the back of her head. In the front were two parted bangs hanging on either side so as not to hinder her visibility much when fighting, but where was her sword? It looked like she didn't carry any weapons, weapon holders, or weapon pouches.

She didn't look too wary of him or his siblings but if he was to guess he would say she still remained aware of her surroundings. There was another girl Suigetsu figured to be her twin considering they were dressed similarly and looked alike.

Her sisters was a heart shaped face that had the same white hair and the same onyx eyes. She wore a matching chenogasm top with blue and orange flowers. Her hair was unattended falling past her neck and shoulders to rest at her lower back. She kept two long strands of it tied on each side to serve the same effect as her sisters bangs. To Suigetsu's bewilderment she also carried no weapons or weapon holders although she wore black fighters tape around her wrist which lead him to believe she was at least proficient in Taijustu.

The one that arrived with the purple hair wore a fine black yukata with purple and orange flowers. The blonde kid sitting in the tree was eyeing him and his siblings likely doing something similar to what he was doing, but the kid actually had a weapon pouch on his left flank and a tactical equipment pouch on his right. As far as he could see all three of the junior kunochi wore no weapons.

Whereas Suigetsu was unsure what to make of them, Togatsu wasn't even giving them the time of day. Kokiri was looking at the quartet knowingly however.

Chenogasm shirts could be casual or they could be expressive. These two weren't overly expressive in their designs but the colors instead were what was meant to draw attention.

The pure white of their shirts was meant to represent the purity of their souls and the flowers were meant to be a representation of where they currently stood in life as well as who they were. The orange flowers they wore were meant to symbolized balance, warmth, enthusiasm, vitality and youth. The red flowers on the one with her hair done up symbolized danger, passion, excitement, love, and strength. The blue flowers on her sister symbolized communication, trust, peace, harmony, and confidence.

Black was the color of power, sophistication, formality, elegance, mystery, and hidden things.

Since this was the color of the yukata worn by the girl with purple hair one could say that these traits were meant to embody her core personality traits or who she basically was. She had less orange flowers than the other two which was meant to represent her being further out of her youth than they were. Purple was never really an easy color to apply to a person, but purple was a royal color and purple flowers usually symbolize dignity, tradition, and success.

While Kokiri entertained the idea of asking the three what clan they hailed from Suigetsu was internally debating on labeling red flowers and the blonde kid as the people who struck him as less of a fighter than anyone currently gathered on the training field. That was until a Hyuga girl showed up and began to nervously fidget in place when everyone turn and looked in her direction.

Togastu leaned towards his brother and spoke lowly into his ear. "This is a waste of time."

Suigetsu choose to ignore his brother knowing there had to be more to the three females and the blonde accompanying them.

"Hey Hinata!" Amaris called with a smile toward the Hyuga girl who looked more than a little frazzled at all the eyes that'd turned to meet hers.

"O-Ohayo gozaimasu, A-"

Togastu groaned loudly interrupted the Hyuga's greeting just as Nubutaka and Hamura were arriving with Neji.

"Are we going to get to fighting soon or what!?"

"Togastu!" Amaris snapped, "Mind your manners in front of my clan head and friends."

Togastu grumbled and turned away but didn't say anything futher.

Nubutaka decided the Hozuki probably wasn't in the mood for a formal greeting and nodded towards Togastu before turning towards his other siblings who nodded their heads respectfully.

"Suigetsu Hozuki."

"Kokiri Hozuki."

"Nice to finally meet you guys. Amaris talks about you a lot."

"What does she say?" Suigestu asked half curious and half suspicious.

"That between all your bickering and high energy you guys are a headache most days." Nubutaka grinned.

"Tell me about it." Kokiri replied with a roll of her eyes and a pointed look in the direction of her unaffected brothers.

"My brother and sister can just get a bit rowdy at times. It's up to big bro to calm down his little siblings when that happens."

"Calm shit, Suigestu."

"Language, Togastu." Amaris scolded before putting her sword away and dropping down from the tree branch to directly address the contenders

"Okay here are the rules of the battle. No ninjustu, no genjustu, no senjustu, and only the bare minimum of taijustu, but only when you have a sword in your hand. You guys have your liquification technique so to make this fair Imari and Shisui can make use of the flicker or the substitution jutsu. The task is to disable not harm or dismember your opponent."

Togastu scoffed. Kokiri looked indifferent. Suigestu was indifferent. Shisui and Imari had already expected that the rules would be as such so they were indifferent as well.

"This kunai striking the ground will be the signal to begin. Fighter's take your positions."

Team Hozuki seemed to come alive in that moment as Amaris threw a kunai high into the air and everyone else moved back towards the compound to create some space.

Shisui pulled out one of his blades and slipped into an Ox guard while Imari shocked the Hozuki siblings by sticking out her elbows and retrieving from them two blades identical to the one held by Shisui.

Before any of the Hozuki could comment on the bloodline ability the kunai touched the ground and the siblings didn't have the time to think about Imari's kekkei genki. Shisui flickered behind Suigetsu and cut his legs out from underneath him before he had the chance to react. He brought his other sword towards the Hozuki's neck intending to land a fatal blow since the Hozuki could regenerate.

His sword was stopped by a pair of daggers. Kokiri pushed against Shisui's sword but the Uchiha's strength wouldn't let up. Suigetsu's feet finally reacted themselves to his legs and he stood

bringing his blade up and forward taking an overheaded swing at Shisui. The Hozuki's swing was easily evaded by Shisui just stepping backwards and making it look easy.

He stepped forward intending to counter attack but Kokiri caught his blade again and trapped him in another blade lock.

Suigetsu took another swing and Shisui flickered out of sight before flicking in again and taking off one of the kiri kunochi's hands. He spun and delivered a powerful heel kick to the side of her face causing it to liquefy and hindering her visibility. Suigetsu almost made him pay for it with a swing if his broadsword that would have torn him in two if he hadn't managed to flicker away in time.

He reappeared a short disturbance away and prepared to launch another attack but Kokiri swung her dagger in a vertical arch and he had to step out of the path of a crescent shaped blade of water. Suigetsu was in front of him before he could move away again and Shisui raised his sword as if he intended to meet the Hozuki's strike, but he flickered away at the last moment causing Suigetsu to stumble forward having expected his blade to be meant with resistance.

Shisui rushed back towards him intending to capitalize on the situation before Suigetsu could regain his bearings but Kokiri rushed in and knocked away his attack with a swing of her daggers. She took another swing and again he flickered away before the wave of water that leapt from her dagger split him in two.

As soon as he reappeared he raised his sword catching a powerful horizontal swing from Suigetsu that took him off his feet and sent him hurtling backwards. As he felt himself slowing he twisted his body into a backflip that allowed him to land not so gracefully on his feet. Kokiri and Suigetsu were both looking in his direction with a measure of excitement that made him slightly nervous.

Meanwhile Togastu was swinging wildly at Imari who was easily holding her ground and parrying strike after strike with an almost practiced ease. He might have had his doubts before but the moment the battle begun he quickly came to the realization that she was no pushover. It was painfully obvious, what with how she redirected his blades and danced around his attacks. It irritated him to no end but there was now no question that this junior shinobi girl was undoubtedly his superior in sword play.

He honestly didn't even think his older brother had him by this wide of a margin. It was unbelievable on so many levels but more than that it was embarrassing. He was a chunin and this kid was still in the Academy.

 _"She must be training to be a kenjustu specialist if she's this good with swords. I have formal training but it's not like that's all I've been trained to excel in like her. This fight is unfair! I'm not about to lose to someone who isn't even a ninja, to hell with the rules!"_

Togastu began moving his blade with much more enthusiasm, making Imari switch from dodging and parrying, to just dodging his frantic swings.

He didn't care about leaving himself open to a counter attack considering he was a Hozuki. He knew none of his swings would penetrate the girls stalwart defense and he didn't care about the fact that he was wasting energy either.

Togastu only cared about the win.. so much so in fact, that it came as no surprise when he disregarded the rules laid down at the beginning and began and created a water clone that began sending sharp waves of water at Imari with every swing of the broadsword.

Imari just continued what she was doing although it took a bit more of effort to evade his attacks now and she couldn't block or parry.

The look of excitement she wore earlier at the Shimura compound was now gone. In it's place was one of cool detachment usually reserved for an enemy on the battlefield. She didn't know who this guy was but he was far too reckless and impatient to be a swordsman. It wouldn't be an inaccurate statement assumption if someone was to say she was more than a little disappointed at his poor show of skill.

Sighing and deciding she would still rather be training with Naruto she let her look of detachment fade to spare the Hozuki a frown before she stepped out of the way of a vertical slash that'd been aimed at her shoulder and summoned all the speed she was able to command. Togastu's eyes didn't move fast enough to catch what happened next but it she blurred and the next thing he knew was he and his clone had just been cut three times across the chest before either of them had the chance to defend themselves.

"That's three fatal strikes Togastu. Normally I would've disqualified you for cheating, but I figured Imari would finish you off soon enough so that wasn't needed."

The Hozuki looked towards Amaris and inwardly raged at the pleased look on her face. He turned back to Imari who gave a friendly smile and offered a hand to help pull him up. She was confused when he looked at her like she'd lost it for a moment before grumbling and pushing himself to his feet.

He didn't say anything to anyone before he began walking away from the compound altogether. Amaris thought that maybe she should follow him for a moment before deciding against it. If he was smart he wouldn't get himself into any trouble. Former Kiri shinobi or not, the anbu were never kind to foreign ninja that caused trouble inside the village.

"He's just on his man period every hour of everyday that he's awake. Try not to worry about his attitude." Kokiri said surprising Imari when she turned and saw her Suigetsu and Shisui standing along the sidelines with everyone else as if the battle was already over.

"You guys are finished already?"

Kokiri pointed at Shisui who smiled proudly and tried his best not to look sheepish at the same time.

"The fight was over before it started. It became obvious we couldn't really touch him almost right after we started."

 **FLASHBACK**

Suigetsu knew that he was pushing the Uchiha back with his assault but he also knew that Shisui's guard was holding strong and that he wasn't even close to breaking through. Kokiri was helping by stepping in and attacking in the moments right after his blade was parried.

Much to their confusion Shisui managed to not only block and parry, but to counter every attack as well. They couldn't even see him move when he did it. The shallow cuts they received everytime an attack missed its mark was all the proof they had that he was even retaliating because he surely wasn't making it obvious.

They'd been locked in this stalemate since the duel began and Kokiri knew that if it continued on like this the Uchiha would just wear them out. Suigetsu wasn't one for planning on how to take down a superior opponent so like always it was up to her to find some way to gain an advantage or inflict some damage to the Uchiha.

She flickered a short distance away so that she was at his back before she spun in a full circle and launched two powerful severing waves one right after the other. Knowing she was behind him since he could no longer see him Shisui used both his swords to parry Suigetsu's next swing and causing him to stumble backwards just slightly.

In the next moment he spun around faster than the eye could follow. Somehow he managed to flicker behind the first wave before raising both swords and cutting the second clean in two.

Kokiri and Suigetsu both stared at him in disbelief having never even thought such a thing was possible.

Shisui grinned and readopted the defensive stance he started with, inviting the two to attack.

"Suigetsu." Kokiri called before placing her hand on the ground. Suigetsu looked puzzled for a moment before he smirked and rushed forward taking a mighty swing at Shisui.

Shisui easily stepped out of the way but it surprised him and everyone else when the ground shattered and released a torrent of water that slammed into his chest and took him off his feet. Kokiri flickered somewhere behind his position and launched a large water bullet from her mouth that was meant to catch the Uchiha while the impact from the former justu still had him in the air and he couldn't defend himself.

 _"Leave it to a Hozuki to decide not to follow the rules in a friendly spare."_

Shisui created a shadow clone that pushed him out of the way of the attack before taking it head on and dispelling due to the impact. Suigetsu was in front of him the moment he thought he was in the clear. The Hozuki had his blade raised above his head and a winning smile in on his face.

The blade came down hard and with it up came a torrent of water from the underground water vein of water which now sat just below the first layer of soil thanks to Kokiri. The area was blanketed in a small shower of muddy water but to the confusion of both siblings the Uchiha was nowhere to be seen. Suigetsu put a hand over his eyes to block the sun and falling mud as he surveyed the training field along with the area around it closely before he smirked.

"Probably shouldn't have put so much into that attack. I think I might have vaporized the guy."

Amaris shook her head knowing that wasn't at all likely. She turned towards Kokiri and didn't know how to feel. On the one hand she cheated but on the other if she'd actual managed to catch Shisui with that water bullet it would have definitely slowed him down. She knew that there wasn't much she could do to help her brother win a kenjustu only spare against an opponent like Shisui so she decided she might as well cheat to give her brother an advantage even if it meant her disqualification. Too bad Shisui had still been able to avoid the attack.

It made her feel slightly bad about disqualifying her even if she had broken a rule. Suigetsu was the most chipper and optimistic of the three, Togastu was the hot head of course, and Kokiri was generally quiet and cold towards others. The only expressions of love she would ever spare her brothers came in the form of selfless actions such as that in the heat of battle. Amaris didn't want to disqualify her for having her brother's best interest at heart but she had no choice.

"You broke the no ninjustu rule Kokiri."

"The Uchiha broke it too when he created that shadow clone to help him dodge my bullet." The former Kiri kunochi countered.

"He only used the shadow clone justu to avoid getting hit by the justu you shouldn't have used in the first place, so we won't count that. Sorry but you're disqualified."

The kunochi shrugged her shoulders and moved towards where the others stood or sat spectating. Suigetsu readied himself for another attack knowing one would come soon. Out of nowhere Shisui appeared, disappeared, and reappeared behind him.

The Hozuki whirled around moving his blade in a wide arch around him but Shisui disappeared from his line of sight yet again.

Unaware of where he was but knowing he was somewhere close by Suigetsu took a mighty swing that pushed the waters up that just underneath the ground. The waters surged forth in a large wave that almost completely enveloped the area in front of him.

Now sure that his opponent couldn't be in front of him Suigetsu turned around just in time to stop a few shuriken with the flat of his blade. Shisui rushed in right behind the ninja star and took two swings at Suigetsu which were blocked.

Shisui followed up his initial assault with a jab that Suigetu wasn't fast enough's to dodge fully. It managed to only graze his shoulder but it was still a bit worrying to Suigetsu that Shisui manage to penetrate his guard so easily on his first assault.

Shisui took two more swings Suigetsu blocked before dropping his guard and making a low kick at the Uchiha's shin before he could repeat the same attack pattern as before. Shisui spun to the side and out the way of the kick, bringing his swords around as his body turned.

Suigetsu took a small leap backwards to avoid the swords before taking one atep forward and bringing his blade over his shoulder in a crooked vertical swing Shisui had to step out of the way of because constantly blocking the large sword his opponent wielded took too much energy.

Suigetsu brung the sword back up making another crooked slash and Shisui flickered out of the blades path.

Suigetsu took another mighty swing creating another wave of water that rushed the Uchiha but he knew it wouldn't hit the speedy ninja. He waited until Shisui dodged the torrent and hurled three shuriken in his direction.

Shisui easily knocked the ninja star away before lifting his swords and gritting his teeth as the Hozuki's sword crashed into his with enough force to sever a tree trunk.

Suigetsu pushed against Shisui's guard figuring even if the Uchiha had him beat in nearly every other category he at least had him beat when it came to raw strength. He was pushing against Shisui's guard with such force that he was sure the Uchiha knew if he tried to back out of their blade lock he would likely be cut in two or recieve a fatal wound for his troubles.

He couldn't flicker at the moment because he needed his legs to supplement his arm strength. If he tried to flicker in the spur of the moment it wouldn't be fast enough and Suigetsu would still land a decisive blow. Shisui pushed back against the Hozuki's guard with everything he had but Suigetsu wouldn't budge an inch. All he could do at the moment was hold him there and he was certain that for Suigetsu it was just a matter of waiting until his arms got tired.

He had to give it to the Hozuki. He was a pretty decent swordsmen but he still wasn't on par with him and Imari.

Suigetsu felt a bit of confusion as Shisui matched his smug grin with one of his own right before his blade caught fire.

The sudden appearance of the flames coupled with the heat they emanated surprised Suigetsu enough to get him to let up for a moment.

Shisui pushed hard against his sword, forcing it into the air before he disappeared again. Suigetsu regained control of his sword and brought it down before pulling back and preparing to launch another torrent of waves to flush the Uchiha out of hiding.

Behind his head he heard a flicker and he whirled around only to stop when a familiar looking sword of bone pressed against his throat. His eyes meant those of his opponents and he was pleased to see he look satisfied with his sound victory rather than smug. Suigetsu knew if it was him in the other guys shoes that he would likely look and be a good measure of both.

 _"I don't get it. This guys a genin? There's no way I just got one upped by a genin like that."_

In the moment that Shisui stepped away and bowed politely, Suigetsu was so wrapped up with his own speculation that he didn't even notice or react. Kokiri rolled her eyes from the sidelines and approached, nodding her respect towards Shisui in place of her brother before waving a hand in front of his face and stepping on his foot to break him out of it.

His foot liquefied upon contact and he had to hold himself up with one leg for the second or two it took to reform. Of course it hadn't hurt him at all, but he still didn't appreciate having his foot stepped on and the look on his face showed it.

"What's the big deal with stepping on my foot like that?"

"Pay attention and you might not need to ask questions with obvious answers. The battle is over. Show your respects to your opponent."

Suigetsu's petulant expression quickly fell as he looked at his sister in a manner that was half quizzical and half disgusted wondering why the hell she would even entertain the idea.

"That's a thing for Konoha shinobi."

Kokiri raised a brow and mirrored his quizzical expression. "I thought we were Konoha shinobi now?"

"We are, but that's no reason for me to act any different than I have always."

"Don't be a sore loser like Togatsu."

The older Hozuki took offense to that and bared his teeth in a half threat that did nothing to dissuade his younger sister.

"I'm not upset about losing to a worthy opponent. The guy's obviously something else when compared to the average shinobi. It was a good battle and I'll show my respect to the Uchiha by challenging him again some day. I wouldn't waste my time with weaklings so a future challenge is my way of showing respect."

Kokiri made a face of displeasure disapproving of that sentiment. "At least shake the guys hand to show your appreciation."

Suigetsu kept his gaze on Kokiri for a minute before he turned towards Shisui who gave a smile and extended his hand. Suigetsu took the hand and shook before nodding his appreciation and commenting that it was a good battle.

 **PRESENT**

"Well I guess that makes sense, but it's too bad we didn't get to switch opponents. Your brother didn't really strike me as much of a swordsman."

"He isn't much of a swordsman. "Kokiri said matter of factly. "He just likes to call himself one because Suigetsu and our oldest brother are swordsmen."

"Really?" Imari looked at Suigetsu and the heavy looking blade strapping across his back. "You don't have a hard time swinging that around? It's almost bigger than you are."

Suigetsu pulled his lips away from the straw he had for easy access to the water within his canteen.

"What kind of swordsman would I be if I let something like that hold me back? I like heavy swords so I use heavy swords."

Imari looked surprised for a moment before she had to laugh at the simplicity of his answer.

 **Hokage's Office-5** **:37am**

Hiruzen looked up from the paperwork on his desk as another presence joined his Tsunade and Jiriya's in the room.

"Danzo." He greeted professionally.

"Hiruzen." Danzo replied before turning towards the rooms other occupants, one of whom was doing her own paperwork and the other who'd been pretending to read but was actually been watching the former as she went over her paperwork.

"Sannin." He greeted unaffected and unsurprised when Tsunade only sneered in his direction while Jiriya offered a terse and unfriendly 'Danzo' before going back to whatever it was he'd been pretending to read.

Hiruzen waved a hand and Danzo stepped further into the room closing the door behind himself and moving to sit in the chair that sat on the right side of the room against the wall to the left of the Hokage and opposite the couch Jiriya was lounging on that seat against the opposite wall. Tsunade sat a short distance away from where he saw fit to settle and she made her displeasure known by continuing to glower in his direction.

To his credit Danzo was able to completely disregard the woman hurling fire and steel into him with her eyes.

"You've an important matter you wish to discuss with me Hiruzen?"

The Hokage nodded his head and held up a number of documents, the first being a mission report, and the last few being a set of pardons drawn up for a handful of shinobi Danzo couldn't say he recognized.

"I thought it best to inform you three of this matter before it's brought to council. I'm sure you've all done your best to keep up with the Ame situation. You've all read the mission reports written by Inu about Hanzo's daughter correct?"

His question was meant with nods and the Hokage continued.

"Just a day ago one of our anbu patrols happened upon the very kunochi in mentioned in Inu's reports. She was leading a squad of Ame shinobi through the north towards Konoha so the anbu proceeded to escort the group here upon hearing their reason for crossing into our borders without permission. To make something of a long story short she requested refuge for she and her shinobi as she gathers the numbers necessary to retake her village."

Danzo looked over the documents given to him by the Hokage while both Sannin looked at their teacher skeptically.

"You're actually taking this into consideration, Danzo?" Jiriya questioned wondering why the elder seemed so calm about it when he'd usually be the first to object to something like this.

"For the most part I happen to agree with Hiruzen's decision. We know next to nothing about this Pien fellow, and since he came to power he's cut all outward tiesties that Ame has with the rest of the world. Yashiu Saramanda came to us seeking help, and as such she has made herself know to us...and as much as it pains me to say it, a potential ally. Always better to bargain with the demon you know than the one you don't."

Jiriya was somewhat surprised by Danzo's statement, but on his face he only wore a look of consideration. To himself though, he had to admit the elder did had a valid point. It was easy to see why the old man kept him around, shaddy as he was.

"I guess that makes sense, but by asylum, what exactly did you agree to sensei?"

"I simply agreed that for the duration of their stay within the village, Yashiu and her shinobi will be treated as freelance Konoha shinobi. When she's gathered all the man power she feels she'll need we renounce all ties with her group seeing as they'll be starting a civil war in which they'll be seen as a rebel force of rogue ninja for the most part."

"Then why take the risk that accompanies granting them asylum." Tsunade questioned. "If Ame's new dictator finds out I doubt he'll be too happy."

"While that may be true I figure it's more advantageous to accept her offer than to turn it down."

Jiriya's expression went from one of confusion to one of interest. "So she made an offer of some kind in exchange for you agreeing to grant her request?"

"Precisely. She and her group have five years here to spend gathering their strength. Once she returns to the land of rain and begins her bloody campaign against the man who killed her father she's to share with us any information she's able to gain pertaining to Ame's new leader and the way he runs the country."

"Since when is valuable information worth helping a questionable group of shinobi prepare to incincite a civil war? I understand that we know next to nothing about the guy, but I don't think that means that we should support his enemies. Especially considering we hardly know them any better than we do him."

"You're statement isn't very far off base Jiriya, however information is far from the only thing she offered, it was only the first."

That caught Jiriya's interest. "What other offers did she make?"

"The offer of an alliance came second. In the unlikely scenario that she does manage to take back Ame her first order of business as it's new leader would be forming an alliance between our villages. Lastly, I agreed to her request due to the agreed upon condition that should she attempt to retake her village five years from now and fail she and her remaining shinobi will serve Konoha from that point onwards."

Jiriya nodded his head and crossed his arms thinking about the situation and seeing the possible benefits. Tsunade only saw trouble however.

"If Yashiu and her group are all wanted dead or alive by this Pein fellow, regardless of the fact none of them have truly abandoned their country, they're still rogue shinobi. Talking them in as refugees would not only be telling Ame we don't give a crap about their leadership, it would also be saying to the rest of the hidden villages that Konoha thinks it can just do whatever it wants."

Hiruzen nodded his head having already taken that into consideration.

"I fully expect them to do their best at keeping a low profile and blending in with the rest of the villagers. Me and Ms Saramanda agreed that she and her shinobi will be treated as freelance shinobi under contract with Konoha. That should do a bit to ensure they won't be threatened or persecuted by some of our less than welcoming shinobi, and most other shinobi of the world. However it also means that I expect them to act like Konoha shinobi during their stay, which means behaving themselves and following my every word without question."

Tsunade had a hard time picturing a group of shinobi from a place like Ame following anyone but Hanzo's orders without question. "That still doesn't answer the question of how you intend to employ and provide shelter for what's likely to be a large number of rogue nin without offending any of the other villages."

"Seeing as they'll need to be kept somewhere private and secure I was thinking the Shimura compound would be perfect for the timr being. Seeing as Danzo's family only uses the main house I assumed it might not be too much of a burden to ask."

Danzo looked up from the intel he'd been going over to stare neutrally at the Hokage.

"And should I refuse you've a back up plan on hand?"

The Hokage gave a nod. "While the Sarutobi compound isn't as private or secure as the Shimura compound I suppose it could still serve the purpose we need."

"What of employment? Should the daughter of Hanzo fail and somehow manage to survive and return to Konoha with tens of shinobi in tow, possibly even a hundred, how will you deal with that? Hiding maybe ten or twenty would be a small feat for the most part, but any number above that and you've got a problem."

"That's where our new friends within the Monogahi compound will help. Due to them being cut off from the world and most of our modern costumes no one within the clan was in possession of a shinobi license before they came to Konoha. No one knows exactly how many of them there are so it should be nothing to set Yashiu and her shinobi up with new identities under the name of Monogahi as long as Nubutaka gives his consent. Not to mention we're referring to an event that's at least five years into the future and we have plenty of time to throw around ideas."

Danzo stood up and nodded his head before sitting down the intel he'd been holding on Hiruzen's desk and walking towards the door.

"While most might think it a reckless move I'm actually behind you on this one Hiruzen. We risk greatly upsetting Ame and offending the other hidden villages, but I doubt they'd try anything because of it. In essence, for risking almost nothing save our good reputation we've already been assured intel and trained shinobi. My compound is open to our new guest as long as they agree to follow the rules I'll be setting in place. After speaking with Anko I'll have a list of their dwellings drawn out and sent to your office."

Hiruzen nodded his head and Danzo took his leave. Tsunade and Jiriya watched silently until the door closed behind the man and it returned to being just them in the office.

"Sensei?" Tsunade chirped earning his eye. "Do really think this a wise decision?"

Hiruzen didn't really know if he thought it was wise or not. It was just the decision that'd prove to be the most beneficial for Konoha if things panned out how he wanted them to.

"It might be a bit of a gamble, but I'm sure it'll payoff in the long run."

Jiriya elbowed Tsunade softly in the ribcage to get her attention.

"Eespecially if **you're** betting against us Hime. A person can't go wrong when they bet against **yo** \- ooof!"

Jiriya curled up slightly and clutched at his stomach, sending a nervous smile at the Sannin who'd just elbowed him not so softly in the ribs.

"I didn't mean-"

"Save it."

"What I meant by a person can't go wro-"

Jiriya's mouth went dry and he gulped as Tsunade cracked her knuckles.

 **Next time in dance of the purebloods!**

 **Monogahi Compound 5:42am**

"So you guys were just born with the ability to turn into water whenever you take damage..." Naruto said still taking stock of Suigetsu. "That's totally cheating, but can you teach me how to do it?"

Suigetsu smirked at the little guy in front of him. "No but I could teach you something else that's cooler. You have a water affinity kid?"

"Air and fire affinity."

"Close enough."

 **Dialogue**

 **Kasuf:** Damn Shy. Thought you gave up on writing this for a minute.

 **Shy:** Haha, very funny Kasuf.

 **Kasuf:** Seriously it's been like a whole frikken year or something.

 **Kabir:** Lol

 **Shy:** It has not been a whole year!

 **Kasuf:** Could of fooled me. I thought you gave up on writing this for a minute.

 **Shy:** Shut up Kasuf!

 **Kasuf:** Me and the readers don't deserve this. Whatever happened to those weekly updates?

 **Shy:** None of your business Kasuf! Don't you have a call of duty lobby you should be raging in or something?

 **Kasuf:** Raging who? Woman, I am a call of duty master, thank you very much.

 **Kabir:** Sometimes it's nice to dream.

 **Kasuf:** And here we go with captain ass kiss again, perfect.

 **Kabir/Shy:** Shut up Kasuf!


End file.
